
■HI 



hHHB 

BHHHI 

HMRffi 



■-(■■'■"■■■■.■■■ 

■NAN 






Witts 



«™1 

■BBiB 

mHm 
■Hhh 



■'■■■■■■■ •■ ,:■■■■:. ; 



■ ■■,■,;.:■.■■-■■:■: 



■I 

"■'■;-. , : '.■■■■■:■ 

afflsM 



1 



iinni 



w&d 







>'<^\/ %•"/ V-^V %'^K- 



'• ^ ^ -i 

.6* V vW A <, 

°4, »TTi- *$P .. V ••-•' 4** ... ^ 

<=!» 4° 



- *-!* <*^ 4.0 

r//A, ^^> 



>* .. . . V^V . . . .. v * v . . - . . VT^V.. ^ .. i 












°*.i^^ °o ys&k.-% c°*.^t>o F*Zmk\> A <?\' 



4? . *^»^>»r+ ^ » , v 






£°* 









^■4 Q*. 






> V> ft A 






* A 



,* v % 



?• C^^n. -^ii^O 4\V%«. 











s°* 




















> . « • O - "^ 4 > 



y % 



f • o>^ 








^ 








^ 



H^ 




.^°* 








»G 











<a *<7VV* ,0 



*V 





S<3* 



"fey* 




/V °,fW* ^ v ^ -.■ 









ov '^K*- ^^ ; ^»^ °^ . 6<? ^fe" ^o< .'Jill*- w :^Bt". ^o< :ai 




i «o. 








r oV 









0^ ^S» 























..^ v 







° ^ 




c^°^ "WWW? * A*"^ -' 



85^ 









<? 0Ba <^ ? ^ T * A & °^ 

a 1 * ('"'♦. *» n^ _.n» 



•5°* 





*« 



TXT* .o* <L « . » 



.* v , o « o ^ y& 



A* o » O *Z& -^ . I . 




Bureau of Mines Information Circular/1986 



Barite Availability- 
Market Economy Countries 

A Minerals Availability Appraisal 

By Joseph S. Coffman and Catherine C. Kilgore 




UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 



^■-. 



%aj &*&*, fa*** >f i***). 



Information Circular 9115 



Barite Availability- 
Market Economy Countries 

A Minerals Availability Appraisal 

By Joseph S. Coffman and Catherine C. Kilgore 




UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 
Donald Paul Hodel, Secretary 

BUREAU OF MINES 
Robert C. Horton, Director 



As the Nation's principal conservation agency, the Department of the Interior has 
responsibility for most of our nationally owned public lands and natural resources. 
This includes fostering the wisest use of our land and water resources, protecting 
our fish and wildlife, preserving the environment and cultural values of our na- 
tional parks and historical places, and providing for the enjoyment of life through 
outdoor recreation. The Department assesses our energy and mineral resources 
and works to assure that their development is in the best interests of all our people. 
The Department also has a major responsibility for American Indian reservation 
communities and for people who live in island territories under U.S. administration. 





A>%l5 



(\0< 



Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data 



Coffman, Joseph S. 

Barite availability— market economy countries. 



(Information circular; 9115) 

Bibliography: p. 21 

Supt. of Docs. no. : I 28.27:9115 

1. Barite. I. Kilgore, Catherine C. II. Title. III. Series: Information circular 
(United States. Bureau of Mines); 9115. 

TN295.U4 [TN948.B18] 622 s [338.2'7662] 86-600246 



fc 



PREFACE 

The Bureau of Mines is assessing the worldwide availability of selected minerals 
of economic significance, most of which are also critical minerals. The Bureau iden- 
tifies, collects, compiles, and evaluates information on producing, developing, and ex- 
plored deposits, and on mineral processing plants worldwide. Objectives are to classify 
both domestic and foreign resources, to identify by cost evaluation those demonstrated 
resources that are reserves, and to prepare analyses of mineral availability. 

This report is one of a continuing series of reports that analyze the availability of 
minerals from domestic and foreign sources. Questions about, or comments on, these 
reports should be addressed to Chief, Division of Minerals Availability, Bureau of Mines, 
2401 E St. N.W., Washington, DC 20241. 



"*- 



111 



CONTENTS 



Page 

Preface i 

Abstract 1 

Introduction 2 

Commodity overview 2 

Production and consumption 3 

Geology 4 

Resources 5 

Operation summaries 9 

Belgium 9 

Brazil 10 

Chile 10 

France 10 

Federal Republic of Germany 10 

Greece 10 

India 10 

Ireland 11 

Italy 11 

Mexico 11 

Morocco 11 

Pakistan 12 

Peru 12 

Spain 13 

Thailand 13 

United Kingdom 14 

United States 14 



Page 

Arkansas 14 

Georgia 14 

Illinois 14 

Missouri 14. 

Nevada 15 

Washington 16 

Engineering and economic analysis 16 

Capital costs 16 

Operating costs 17 

Mining 17 

Beneficiation 17 

Personnel 18 

Transportation 18 

Production cost summary 18 

Availability 19 

Mud-grade barite 19 

Chemical- and filler-grade barite 20 

Summary 20 

References 21 

Appendix A.— Methodology 22 

Appendix B.— Ownership of barite operations .... 24 
Appendix C— Exchange rates per U.S. dollar and 
comparison of costs between 1982 and 1984 for 

countries evaluated 25 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

1. Relationship of barite production and consumption to well-drilling activity 4 

2. Mineral resource classification categories 5 

3. Regional distribution of demonstrated barite resources for evaluated operations 5 

4. Relationship between U.S. and non-U.S.MEC identified resources 6 

5. Relationship between U.S. and non-U.S. resources in terms of producing and nonproducing operations, 

1984 6 

Locations of barite operations in— 

6. Europe and Morocco 9 

7. Brazil, Chile, and Peru 10 

8. India and Pakistan 11 

9. Mexico and the United States 12 

10. Thailand 13 

11. Missouri 15 

12. Nevada 15 

13. Regional weighted-average total cost of production for primary mud-grade barite concentrates 18 

14. Cost and total availability of mud-grade barite at 0-pct and 15-pct DCFROR 19 

15. Comparison of total availability of mud-grade barite from U.S. and non-U.S. operations at a 15-pct 

DCFROR 19 

16. Cost and total availability of chemical- and filler-grade barite at 0-pct and 15-pct DCFROR 20 

TABLES 



1. Barite market prices, 1984 3 

2. World barite production by country, 1979-84 3 

3. U.S. barite trade and consumption statistics, 1979-84 4 

4. U.S. barite import tariffs 4 

5. MEC barite resources, 1984 7 

6. Barite mine and deposit data 7 

7. Barite mining and beneficiation capital costs, by region 16 



IV 

Page 

8. Barite open pit mining costs, by region 17 

9. Barite beneficiation operating costs, by method 17 

10. Barite beneficiation operating costs, by region 18 

11. Barite mining and beneficiation personnel productivity and labor rates, by region 18 

12. Selected barite ocean shipping costs 18 

13. Percentage distribution of barite production costs 19 

14. Comparison of available barite concentrates from U.S. and non-U.S. producing mines and nonproducing 

deposits 20 

A-l. Byproduct prices used in economic evaluations 23 



UNIT OF MEASURE ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THIS REPORT 



cm 


centimeter 


mt/yr 


metric ton per year 


ft 


foot 


mm 


millimeter 


km 


kilometer 


Mmt 


million metric tons 


km 2 


square kilometer 


pet 


percent 


m 


meter 


sp gr 


specific gravity 


mm 


millimeter 


tr oz 


troy ounce 


Mmt 


million metric tons 


US$/mt 


U.S. dollar per metric ton 


mt 


metric ton 


yr 


year 


mt/d 


metric ton per day 







BARITE AVAILABILITY— MARKET ECONOMY COUNTRIES 
A Minerals Availability Appraisal 

By Joseph S. Coffman 1 and Catherine C. Kilgore 2 
ABSTRACT 



The Bureau of Mines investigated the availability of barite (BaS0 4 ) from 35 U.S. 
and 41 non-U.S. mines and deposits in 17 market economy countries (MEC's). This 
evaluation assesses the availability of mud-grade barite, and concentrates consumed 
by the chemicals and fillers industries. The demonstrated resources defined in this 
analysis totaled 130 million metric tons (Mmt) of barite (contained BaS0 4 ), yielding a 
potential 115 Mmt of recoverable barite concentrates. At the 1984 MEC production rate, 
the evaluated resources would last about 30 yr; however, this would include produc- 
tion costs of up to $100/mt concentrate. 

An average price needed to cover all costs of production over the life of each opera- 
tion was determined for both mud-grade and chemical- and filler-grade barite products. 
Including a 0-pct discounted-cash-flow rate of return (DCFROR), regional weighted- 
average total production cost ranged from $38/mt for barite concentrates in Asia to 
$71/mt for U.S. operations. Transportation costs have the greatest impact, contributing 
up to 60 pet of the total cost of production. Rail transportation costs from the mines 
to U.S. markets are generally significantly higher than ocean shipping rates on imports. 

'Physical scientist. 
"Geologist. 
Minerals Availability Field Office, Bureau of Mines, Denver, CO. 



INTRODUCTION 



The purpose of this report is to identify and define barite 
resources and to evaluate the production potential and fac- 
tors affecting the availability of mud-grade, chemical-grade, 
and filler-grade barite from U.S. and non-U.S. deposits. For 
this study, the Bureau of Mines analyzed the engineering 
and economic availability of barite concentrates of 76 mines 
and deposits (66 operations) in 17 market economy coun- 
tries (MEC's), including the United States. 

Of the operations analyzed, 45 were producing during 
1984, 11 were shut down, 2 were in development stages, 
and 8 were undeveloped. Some of the shut-down operations 
could reopen with improved market conditions. Chemical- 
or filler-grade barite amounted to a little over 8 pet of the 
total evaluated barite production. The MEC's included in 
this evaluation have produced an average of 87 percent of 
the barite from all MEC's between the years 1979 and 1984. 

The procedure for this study was to identify recoverable 
resources and those engineering and economic parameters 
that would affect production from the deposits selected for 
evaluation. Brown and Root Development, Inc., met with 



mining company officials to obtain information on the 41 
foreign properties under contract J0225017 (6) 3 . In some 
cases, site visits also were made. Information on domestic 
deposits was provided by personnel at Bureau of Mines field 
operations centers. 

Demonstrated and identified resources were defined; 
capital and operating costs for the appropriate mining and 
beneficiation methods were estimated; transportation costs 
to the known market areas were assessed; and economic 
cost evaluations were performed for each deposit, using con- 
stant January 1984 U.S. dollars. Production cost estimates 
were based on the exploitation of the entire demonstrated 
resource of each deposit, and therefore they may not reflect 
the current (1984) costs. Finally, the individual deposit 
evaluations were aggregated to show potential barite 
availability for mud and chemical and filler grades at 
various long-run constant-dollar commodity prices. The 
methodology used in the deposit evaluations is explained 
in appendix A. 



COMMODITY OVERVIEW 



Barite (BaS0 4 ) is a soft, chemically inert mineral con- 
taining 58.8 pet Ba and having a specific gravity of 4.5. It 
is the only mineral form of barium that is commercially ex- 
ploited; barium metal by itself has little commercial 
application. 

The commercially exploitable occurrences of barite are 
relatively widespread; in 1979-84 a total of 45 countries 
recorded barite production. Barite is generally easy to con- 
centrate by simple gravity methods; relatively small 
deposits can be developed and mined with comparatively 
small preproduction costs. 

By far, the largest use of barite is as a weighting 
material in oil and gas well drilling fluids (drilling mud). 
In 1983, over 96 pet of the barite consumed in the United 
States and 85 to 90 pet of that consumed in Europe was as 
drilling mud (3). More than 2.4 Mmt barite was consumed 
in drilling fluids in the United States in 1983, or about 31.3 
mt per well drilled (4). The remainder was used in various 
chemical and filler applications. 

On a worldwide basis, barite is distributed by a rela- 
tively few service companies. Much of the barite is marketed 
by the companies as a component of their drilling engineer- 
ing services. These service companies generally offer com- 
plete engineering at the well site, including providing drill- 
ing mud, delivering it to the well site, and being responsi- 
ble for maintaining specified barite content of the drilling 
fluid. 

Market specifications of barite for drilling mud are 
established by the American Petroleum Institute (API) and 
its European counterpart, Oil Companies Materials Associa- 
tion (OCMA). The principal specification is that the material 
have a specific gravity of at least 4.2 (about 91 pet BaS0 4 ). 
A small percentage of iron is allowable (no definite specifica- 
tion), but it must be free of soluble salts. The final product 
must be ground to 97 pet passing 200 mesh with not more 
than 5 pet held on a 325-mesh screen (2). Lower grades of 



less than 4.2 sp gr are marketed, but they must be blended 
with higher grades to maintain the minimum specific grav- 
ity. In a few cases, fine-ground hematite is blended with 
barite to attain a higher specific gravity. This practice has 
limitations because the hematite is somewhat corrosive and 
more abrasive than barite, and users resist the blend. 

The crude barite is reduced to API size specifications 
in Raymond-type roller mills. These installations produce 
ground barite for either bagged or bulk shipment. For the 
longer distance shipments, the ground barite is normally 
bagged. Preferably, the barite is ground near where it is 
to be used since there is no economic advantage to grinding 
at the mine site; increased costs for shipping the ground 
barite are generally higher than the cost of grinding. 
Minesite grinding is generally restricted to barite destined 
for areas without grinding facilities. 

The chemical and filler industries utilize both 
precipitated salts and natural ore in a variety of applica- 
tions as explained below (4). 

Precipitated barium carbonate (BaC0 3 ) is a base for the 
production of most barite chemicals and is used in ceramic 
glaze enhancement and glass manufacturing. Other 
chemical uses include metal hardening, fabric treatment, 
water purification, magnesium metal production, and brick 
manufacture (barium carbonate); munitions (barium 
nitrate); electric furnace ferrous metallurgy (barium oxide); 
ceramics, oils, and sugar refining (barium hydroxide); and 
electronics (barium titanite). 

Blanc fixe, a precipitated high-purity barium sulfate, 
is used as a white filler principally in paints, rubber, and 
inks. Lithophone, a mixture of BaS0 4 , ZnO, ZnS, was 
formerly used as a white pigment in paint but has largely 
been replaced by Ti0 2 . Bleached and unbleached natural 



'Italic numbers in parentheses refer to items in the list of references 
preceding the appendixes at the end of this report. 



Table 1.— Barite market prices, 1984 (3, 10, 14) 



Region and product 



BaS0 4 
grade, % 



Comments 



Price, 
$/mt 



Europe: 

Ground, white, paint 
grade 96-98 

OCMA-grade bulk: 

Ground +91 

Unground +91 

United States: 

Drilling-mud grade, 
4.2-4.3 sp gr: 

Ground 83-93 

Unground 83-93 

Chemical grade: 
Ground (325-mesh) ... 95 

Unground 95 



Delivered U.K 170-190 

Delivered Aberdeen . . . 70- 80 
f.o.b. Morocco 40 



c.i.f. U.S. gulf coast. . . 80-115 

. . do 46 

f.o.b. U.S. plant 80-165 

. . do 95 



barite is used principally as an undercoat filler for 
automobile paints. 

Chemical-grade barite and that used for fillers and 
ceramics generally must have a minimum grade of 95 pet 
BaS0 4 . Other restrictions include iron content (maximum 
0.5 to 1.0 pet Fe, depending on the use), SrS0 4 (maximum 
1 pet), and fluorine (trace). For glass manufacturing, the 
material is limited to 0.15 pet Fe 2 3 but will take up to 1.5 
pet Si0 2 . 

Market prices for barite have remained relatively stable 
in average constant dollars over the last 20 yr (4). Typical 
early 1984 published prices for several barite products are 
shown in table 1. 



PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION 



For many years the United States has been the world's 
leading producer of barite. However, from a record 2.5 Mmt 
in 1981, U.S. production declined to about 654,000 mt in 
1983, with Nevada accounting for about 88 pet. In 1983, 
China became the leading producer at 1 Mmt. Production 
statistics for 1979-84 are shown in table 2 for both MEC's 
and centrally planned economy countries (CPEC's). 

Table 2.— World barite production by country, 1979-84 (24) 

(Thousand metric tons) 
Country 1979 1980 1981 1981 1983 1984© 

MEC's: 

Algeria 102 98 89 102 109 109 

Argentina 55 50 49 36 61 60 

Australia 94 39 41 28 40 40 

Belgium 30 40 40 40 40 

Brazil 108 104 116 120 118 118 

Canada 75 94 86 28 45 50 

Chile 227 226 259 292 114 118 

France 170 237 190 156 150 141 

Germany, Federal 161 175 165 166 164 181 

Republic of 

Greece 48 48 47 47 30 32 

India 491 434 354 326 323 417 

Iran 180 150 75 80 85 91 

Ireland 328 260 274 264 200 200 

Italy 215 203 177 180 139 107 

Japan 55 56 56 60 70 66 

Malaysia 2 19 25 22 36 

Mexico 151 269 317 364 357 362 

Morocco 287 320 465 538 282 299 

Pakistan 34 14 24 26 28 30 

Peru 444 414 409 374 163 163 

Spain 74 60 53 50 53 50 

Thailand 378 305 307 331 187 175 

Tunisia 15 27 24 31 20 27 

Turkey 100 128 186 107 77 181 

United Kingdom 45 54 63 81 36 73 

United States 1 1,916 2,036 2,584 1,673 684 703 

Yugoslavia 46 48 44 32 30 36 

Other MEC* 61 42 32 40 30 25 

Total 5,862 5,921 6,545 5,597 3,657 3,931 

CPEC's: 

China 499 680 798 899 998 998 

U.S.S.R 499 508 508 517 517 544 

Other CPEC 3 393 384 361 266 257 253 

Total 1,391 1,572 1,667 1,682 1,772 1,795 

Grand total 7,253 7,493 8,212 7,279 5,429 5,729~ 

e Estimated. 

1 Sold or used by producers. 

2 Other MEC's: Bolivia, Burma, Colombia, Egypt, Guatemala, Kenya, 
Republic of Korea, Philippines, Portugal, Republic of South Africa, Zimbabwe. 

Klther CPEC's: Afghanistan, Czechoslovakia, German Democratic Republic, 
North Korea, Poland, Romania. 



A total of 45 countries recorded barite production dur- 
ing the period 1979-84. Production levels were affected by 
the 1982 worldwide recession, with a more than 30-pct 
decrease in production between 1981 and 1983. 

Barite production from the CPEC's averaged about 20 
pet of the world total between 1979 and 1982. However, the 
increase in Chinese production, coupled with a decline in 
most MEC's (nearly 1 Mmt in the United States alone), 
enabled the CPEC's to reach to 33 pet of total world pro- 
duction in 1984. 

The United States is by far the world's largest consumer 
of barite and has always been a substantial importer. The 
United States has a level of drilling about four times that 
of the rest of the world in terms of footage drilled. Figure 
1 shows a relationship between drilling activity and MEC 
production and U.S. consumption. As indicated, the ratio 
of MEC barite production to the MEC footage drilled 
decreased from 1.82 mt per 100 ft in 1979 to 0.89 mt per 
100 ft in 1983. This may be partly due to more exports to 
countries outside the MEC's, but may also reflect a buildup 
of surpluses during the years of mine capacity expansion 
through 1981. A similar relationship exists between U.S. 
consumption and drilling, although the 1979 and 1983 
ratios are not as far apart. 

As with production, U.S. consumption peaked in 1981 
at about 4.3 Mmt, decreasing to about 2.6 Mmt in 1984; this 
consumption represented about 46 pet of the total world pro- 
duction, or about 68 pet of the MEC production. 

U.S. trade and consumption statistics for the years 
1979-84 are shown in table 3. As shown, China has been 
dominant in the U.S. import statistics in recent years. Even 
with the downturn in U.S. consumption from 1981 to 1984, 
imports from China continued to increase. This increase in 
the share of the U.S. market has apparently been at the 
expense of imports from other countries, such as Chile, 
Ireland, Morocco, and Peru. Much of the ore from China 
is higher grade (+4.3 sp gr) and can be blended with lower 
grade material. 

U.S. tariff restrictions on barite as of 1984 are shown 
in table 4. Eight of the 16 foreign nations included in this 
evaluation qualify for the U.S. Generalized System of 
Preference (GSP), which allows duty-free entry of imports 
into the United States. These are Brazil, Chile, India, Mex- 



700 



■p 


600 


>^ 




10 




o 




T-l 




>-■ 


500 


h- 




H 




> 




H 




H 




U 




< 


400 


CD 




Z 




H 




J 




_J 




H 




DC 


300 


U 





200 



MEC barite production 




- 5 



1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 

Figure 1 .—Relationship of barite production and consumption to well-drilling activity. 



1984 



-P 

E 



Z 
O 
H 
H 
CL 

D 
CO 

z 
o 
o 

Q 

z 
< 

z 
o 

H 

u 

D 
Q 
O 

cr 

Q. 

UJ 

r- 
H 

rr 
< 



Table 3.— U.S. barite trade and 
consumption statistics, 1979-84 (3) 

(Thousand metric tons) 



Imports: 

Crude barite from— 

Chile 129 

China 212 

India 186 

Ireland 154 

Mexico 122 

Morocco 121 

Peru 307 

Thailand 107 

Other 12 

Total 1 ,350 

Ground barite 24 

Total imports 1 ,374 

Less exports 99 

Net imports 1 ,275 

U.S. consumption 2,923 

Imports, pet of consumption 44 



159 


285 


301 


74 


79 


476 


667 


708 


706 


821 


132 


50 


153 


22 


121 


75 


71 


74 





36 


118 


121 


130 


119 


54 


186 


209 


318 


160 


304 


297 


288 


219 


118 


58 


118 


21 


138 


44 


59 


118 


16 


63 


24 


38 



1,677 
3 



1,728 
12 



2,104 
22 



1,267 
1 



1,680 
88 



1,740 
56 



2,126 
3 



1,268 
1 



1,592 

3,310 

48 



1,684 

4,277 

39 



2,123 

3,668 

58 



1,267 

2,498 

51 



1,570 
41 



1,611 
1 



1,610 

2,630 

61 



Table 4.— U.S. barite import tariffs (4) 

(Dollars per long ton) 



1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 Type of barite 



Most favored 
nation 



Non-most 
favored nation 



Crude . 
Ground 



$1.27 
3.25 



$4.00 
7.50 



ico, Morocco, Pakistan, Peru, and Thailand. The GSP was 
established as a temporary 10-yr program under the Trade 
Act of 1974, and was renewed until 1993 under the Trade 
and Tariff Act of 1985. 

Nearly 100 pet of the barite ore imported is in the form 
of crude (unground) barite. Imported ground barite is 
generally chemical or filler grade. 



GEOLOGY 



Barite occurs principally in bedded, vein, and residual 
deposits. It also occurs as a gangue mineral in association 
with metallic sulfide deposits. In terms of world barite 
resources, bedded deposits are the most important. They 
generally occur as stratiform beds, lenses, or discontinuous 
horizons that are conformable with the enclosing rocks. 

The bedded deposits often involve several lenses or 
horizons of barite grouped together. They usually exhibit 
a gradation from higher grade material (direct shipping 



grade, 4.2 sp gr) near the center of the lens, to lower grades 
towards the extremities. This gradation occurs 
stratigraphically as well; that is, the barite content gener- 
ally decreases nearer the enclosing rock contact. 

Vein deposits are generally hydrothermal in origin and 
are smaller than bedded deposits. They may be found in 
calcareous rocks and associated with fluorite, quartz, or 
metallic sulfides. 

Detrital (residual) deposits of barite are formed in a clay- 



bearing or clay residuum that results from surficial 
weathering. These are normally low-grade deposits (6 pet 



to 10 pet BaS0 4 ) and have been exploited mainly for 
chemical-grade barite. 



RESOURCES 



Barite resources evaluated in this study are defined ac- 
cording to the mineral resource-reserve classification 
developed jointly by the Bureau of Mines and the U.S. 
Geological Survey (25). The classification categories are il- 
lustrated in figure 2. 

It was found that in many cases advance exploration 
defines only a few years of production. This is because the 
possibility of fluctuations in drilling activities, on which 
barite consumption depends, make it difficult for a company 
to justify the expense of establishing a long-range resource. 
In addition, barite is mined and processed relatively easily 
and normally requires little initial capital expenditure. 
Thus, it is not necessary to develop large resources to 
recover initial invested capital. 

For this study, cost estimates and analyses were per- 
formed on demonstrated tonnages only (measured plus in- 
dicated resources as of January 1984). Demonstrated 
resources totaled 130 Mmt contained BaS0 4 from the 30 
U.S. and 36 non-U.S. operations evaluated. A regional 
breakdown of these resources is shown in figure 3. 

The identified resources (measured plus indicated plus 
inferred) were also estimated, but not included in the 
analyses. A comparison of demonstrated and identified 
resources from U.S. and non-U.S. deposits is shown in figure 
4. Figure 5 illustrates the relationship between 
demonstrated resources contained in producing and non- 
producing deposits. 

Resources, by country, are shown in table 5, and mine 
and deposit data are shown in table 6. Locations of the 
deposits are shown in figures 6-12 in the following section. 
Ownership of the properties are listed in appendix B. 




United 
States 



Asia Latin Europe Morocco 
America 



Figure 3.— Regional distribution of demonstrated barite 
resources for evaluated operations. 



Cumulative 
production 


IDENTIFIED RESOURCES 


UNDISCOVERED RESOURCES 


Demonstrated 


Inferred 


Probability range 


Measured | Indicated 


Hypothetical *"' Speculative 




ECONOMIC 


Reserve 


Inferred 

reserve 

base 


1 1 
1 1 


MARGINALLY 
ECONOMIC 


base 


SUB- 
ECONOMIC 




J_ 





Other 
occurrences 



Includes nonconventional and low-grade materials 



Figure 2.— Mineral resource classification categories. 





U.S. identified resources 
70.3 Mmt contained BaSO, 



Non-U. S. identified resources 
142.8 Mmt contained BaSCT, 



Figure 4.— Relationship between U.S. and non-U. S. MEC identified resources. 





U.S. evaluated resources 
54.5 Mmt contained BaSO. 



Non-U. S. evaluated resources 
75 Mmt contained BaSO. 



Figure 5.— Relationship between U.S. and non-U.S. resources in terms of producing and nonproducing operations, 1984. 



Table 5.— MEC barite resources 1 , 1984 





(Million metric tons) 












Demonstrated 




Identified 


Country name 


In situ 
material 


Contained 
BaS0 4 


Recoverable 
product 


In situ Contained 
material BaSO„ 



Belgium 

Brazil 

Chile 

France 

Germany, Federal Republic of 

Greece 

India 

Ireland 

Italy 

Mexico 

Morocco 

Pakistan 

Peru 

Spain 

Thailand 

United Kingdom 

United States: 

Arkansas 2 

Georgia 

Illinois 

Missouri 

Nevada 

Washington 

Total U.S 

Grand total 

W Withheld, company proprietary data. Included with Arkansas. 
Resources estimated for the purpose of this analysis, 
includes Washington. 



549 

700 

147 

6,300 

2,260 

573 

34,600 

1,514 

9,868 

10,246 

10,718 

2,400 

3,860 

5,365 

14,657 

4,381 



10,655 
24,893 
1,945 
90,920 
57,883 
W 



186,296 



294,434 



384 

658 

125 

2,415 

1,134 

395 

31,832 

1,347 

2,013 

8,133 

9,821 

2,136 

3,474 

1,229 

9,906 

2,030 



5,035 

2,217 

155 

6,914 

40,159 

W 



54,480 



131,512 



336 

617 

104 

1,659 

735 

326 

31,140 

1,514 

1,200 

6,597 

8,864 

2,026 

3,480 

977 

8,267 

2,062 



4,060 

1,700 

93 

4,606 

35,107 

W 



45,566 



115,469 



823 

700 

4,000 

9,000 

3,845 

1,000 

71 ,400 

2,400 

23,150 

20,000 

23,210 

5,000 

8,030 

7,475 

22,200 

5,998 



18,300 
25,800 
2,300 
91,920 
84,131 
W 



222,451 



430,682 



576 

658 

3,320 

3,490 

1,634 

690 

60,732 
2,256 
4,323 

16,000 

17,633 
4,250 
7,227 
1,536 

14,616 
3,840 



8,475 

2,358 

184 

7,011 

52,305 

W 



70,333 



213,104 



Table 6.— Barite mine and deposit data 



Country, State, and 
property name 



Status 



Mining method 



Beneficiation 
method 



End-use 
products 1 

Drilling 

..do 

..do 

Chemical 4 

Drilling, CaF 2 . . . 

Drilling, chemical, 

CaF 2 . 
Chemical 

Drilling 

..do 

..do 

Drilling 

..do 

Drilling, chemical, 

CaF 2 , Pb. 
Drilling, chemical, 

Pb, Ag. 

Drilling 

..do 

Drilling 

Drilling 

..do 

..do 

..do 

Drilling 

..do 

Drilling, Pb.Zn . . 



Estimated annual 
capacity, 2 mt/yr 



Belgium: Fleurus 

Brazil: Camamu 

Chile: Baritex-Resguardo 

France: 

Barytine de Chaillac . 
Rossignol 

Total 



Germany, Federal Republic of: 
Clara 



Dreislar 

Total 

Greece: Mykonos Mykobar . 

India: 

Mangampet 

Tiffin 



Total 

Ireland: Ballynoe 

Italy: 



Barego 

Mineraria Silius 

Montego 



Total 

Mexico: 

Barita de Santa Rosa (Barosa) 



Barita de Sonora 
Cobachi 

Total 



Morocco: 

Jbel Ihroud 

Seksaoua 

Tessaout 

Zelmu 

Total 

Pakistan: Gunga 

Peru: 

Chagla (Tingo Maria) 

Graciela-Juanita and Minera 
Barmine 



Total 



Producing 
..do .... 
..do .... 



do 
do 



Producing 
. .do 



( 5 ) 



Producing . . . 
..do 



Producing 



..do 
..do 



do 



Producing 



..do 

Developing 



Producing 
..do .... 
..do .... 
..do .... 



Producing . . . 

Explored 

Producing . . . 



Open pit . . . 

..do 

Open stope 



Open pit . . 
Shrinkage 



Sublevel stoping 
Filled stoping . . . 

Shrinkage 



Open pit . 
..do.... 



Open pit . 



Sublevel stoping 
..do 



Overhand shrinkage 



Room and pillar. 



Open pit . 
..do... 



Open pit 

Shrinkage 

Room and pillar. 
Open pit 



Open pit . 



..do 

Open pit, cut and fill. 



Flotation gravity 3 

Gravity 

Gravity, 
handsorting. 



Flotation 
Heavy media. 



Flotation 
..do ... 

Gravity . . 



Handsorting 
..do 



Crushing 



Gravity. . 
Flotation 



.do 



Handsorting, 
flotation. 

..do 

Flotation . . . 



Gravity 

Handsorting 

..do 

Crushing . . . 



Handsorting 
Crushing . . . 



Handsorting, 
flotation. 



40,000 
51,900 
95,600 



101,600 
9,000 

110,600 



W 

W 

63,600 
42,200 



360,000 
24,000 

384,000 
250,000 



35,100 
25,800 

49,500 



110,400 



79,100 

106,700 
202,200 

388,000 



36,900 
111,400 

17,100 
235,200 

400,600 
26,200 



125,000 

254,000 
379,000 



Table 6.— Barite mine and deposit data— Continued 



Country, State, and 
property name 



Status 



Mining method 



Beneficiation 
method 



End-use 
products 1 



Estimated annual 
capacity, 2 mt/yr 



Spain: 

Guillermin-San Fernando . 
La Carolina 



Total 

Thailand: 

Attbar-Thung Wa 
Ban Hin Khao . . . 
Khao Mai Phai . . 

Nidhi 

Oriental Gold . . . 

Siam Barite 

STA 

Tip 

Total 



United Kingdom: 
Aberfeldy . . 
Derbyshire . 



Total 

United States: 

Arkansas: Fancy Hill-McKnight 



Georgia: 
New Riverside 
Paga 

Total 



Illinois: 
Barnett 

Denton 
Henson 

Total . 



Missouri: 
Apex-Mineral Point 

Cadet 

Dresser No. 4 

Dresser No. 10 

Kingston 

Old Mines 

Richwoods 

Stone Spring 

Sun 

Total 



Nevada: 

Ann 

Argenta 

East Northumberland 

Easy Miner 

Fish Creek 

Greystone 

Heavy Spar 

Kay 

Lakes 

Mountain Springs 

P&S 

Rossi-Queen Lode 

Snoose, Big Ledge, Jungle 
Stormy Creek 



Total 

Washington: Flagstaff Mountain, 
Bruce Creek 



Total U.S. 



Producing 
..do .... 



Producing 
..do .... 
..do .... 

..do 

..do .... 
..do .... 
..do .... 
..do .... 



Explored . 
Producing 



Shutdown 



Producing 
..do .... 



P) 

Producing 
P) 



Shutdown . 

( 8 ) 
Shutdown . 
..do 

( 8 ) 
Shutdown . . 

( 8 ) 
Explored . . . 
Shutdown . . 



Explored . 
Producing 
Shutdown 
Explored . 

..do 

Producing 
Shutdown 
Explored . 

..do 

Producing 
Shutdown 
Producing 
Shutdown 
..do .... 



Developing 



Sublevel stope . 
Open pit 



Open pit 6 
..do.... 
..do.... 
..do.... 
..do.... 
..do.... 
..do.... 
..do.... 



Shrinkage 

Open pit, sublevel 
stope. 



Open pit. 



..do. 
..do. 



Shrinkage 



Room and pillar . 
Shrinkage 



Open pit . 
..do. ... 
..do.... 
..do... 
..do.... 
..do.... 
..do.... 
..do.... 
..do.... 



Open pit . 
..do.... 
..do.... 
..do.... 
..do.... 
..do.... 
..do.... 
..do.... 
..do.... 
..do.... 
..do.... 
..do.... 
..do.... 
..do.... 



Open pit . 



Grand total . 



Flotation . . . 
Gravity 

Washing . . . 

..do 

. . do 

Handsorting 

..do 

Washing . . . 
Handsorting 
Washing . . . 

Crushing . . . 
Flotation . . . 

Flotation . . . 

..do 

..do 

Flotation . . . 

..do 

..do 



Jig, flotation 

Jig 

Jig 

Jig 

Jig 

Jig 

Jig 

Jig 

Jig 

Jig 

Jig 

Jig 

Jig 

Flotation . . . 

Jig 

Jig 

Jig 

Jig 

Jig 

Flotation . . . 

Jig 

Jig 

Jig 

Flotation . . . 



Drilling, Pb 

Drilling 

Drilling 

..do 

..do 

..do 

..do 

..do 

..do 

..do 

..do 

Drilling, CaF 2 , Pb . 

Drilling 

Chemical 

..do 



Chemical, Pb, Zn, 
CaF 2 . 

. . do 

..do 

Drilling 

..do 

..do 

..do 

Drilling, chemical . 

Chemical 

Drilling, chemical . 

Drilling 

Chemical 

Drilling 

..do 

..do 

..do 

..do 

..do 

..do 

..do 

..do 

..do 

..do 

..do 

..do 

..do 

Drilling 



35,500 
32,400 

67,900 



68,000 
57,800 
40,000 
60,000 
30,000 
23,600 
45,000 
40,300 
364,700 



150,000 
11,800 

161,800 

178,000 



28,000 
32,800 

60,800 



2,000 

3,400 
900 

6,300 



73,600 
22,800 
13,600 
18,100 
48,400 
8,800 
45,900 
35,400 
17,600 

284,200 



99,000 

265,600 

83,600 

67,100 

169,200 

337,800 

50,100 

70,100 

344,000 

275,700 

184,900 

295,400 

74,200 

128,000 

2,444,700 



123,400 
3,097,400 



6,037,300 



1 CaF 2 =Fluorspar; Pb, Zn, Ag = lead, zinc, silver concentrates, respectively. 

Estimated 1984 potential product capacity; proposed for nonproducers. 

3 Various gravity methods (jig, tables, spirals, etc.). 

includes both chemical and filler grades. 

5 Shutdown in late 1984. 

6 Some mines use gophering on narrow veins when open pit limits are reached. 

'Depleted and closed in 1985. 

8 Resumed production on a limited scale in late 1984. 



OPERATION SUMMARIES 



BELGIUM 



Barite production from the Fleurus Mine began prior 
to World War I, and production was relatively continuous 
through the late 1920's. The mine, located in Hainaut Prov- 
ince (fig. 6), has been operating as an open pit since 1979. 

Resources have recently been reported at about 1 Mmt 



ore (21); however, most of this is below the water table. For 
the purpose of this analysis, 1984 demonstrated resources 
are estimated at 549,000 mt. 

The thickness of the mineralized horizon is about 18 m, 
and the capacity is about 330 mt/d with an average strip- 
ping ratio of 4:1. The ore is beneficiated by gravity and flota- 
tion, and the product is railed to the coast and directed 
mainly to the North Sea drilling area. 






...HUH I ll 



^•NETHERLANDS! 




; JQ • W'' ^| SWEDEN fy' 



KvxW North Sea frXvXxi 
• : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : x : : : : : :bkNMARK/>» 

UNITED 
KINGDOMxxxXXXXv 



xxx-o: 



Baltic Sea:\ 



/GERMAN 
"GERMANY/ 0. R. 



F.R. 



Berlin) POLAND \ SOVIET UNION 



•Frankfurt 
LUXEMBOURG} \ Z ^Sil£ s '-0VA 

FRANCE / R 6 

j t * v '-'US i fil/.\ 



K/A 



*X*X PORTUGAL! 



SPAIN 
Madrid 



SWITZERLAND! 



rxxxxCORSlCAjr 



HUNGARY 



YUGOSLAVIA 



J:-:-:-x>vRom« \->: 



ROMANIA 



BULGARIA 



x:::xx|i::^xxSARDlNiA\//,/^:X : xxixi:ix;:>i 



X 9 *'° M W^/P^^^LMMm 

■ -v^'-iVsv. sicii.. 



xxvx : : ::-ycREEC r\: : ::: 



Nodor 1 



;:X:X:X : X : : : X : X : >X Catablanca,-/' 

•/Miirtvjr morocco 



X-X-^jlvl-^xXj^Agad ir 



14 



ALGERIA 



.TUNISIA 



mm?* 



mm 




XjjfcCRE 


3| 





LIBYA 



EGYPT 





1 I I 



LEGEND 
• City or town 
X Mine 
A Deposit 

500 



I I 



Scale, km 



1,000 



/ 


Aberfeldy 


7 


Barytine deChaillac 


13 


Mykonos Mykobar 


2 


Derbyshire 


8 


Rossignol 


14 


Zelmu 


3 


Ballynoe 


9 


Guillermin-San Fernando 


15 


Seksaoua 


4 


Fleurus 


10 


La Carolina 


16 


Jbel Ihroud 


5 


Dreislar 


II 


Barego and Montego 


17 


Tessaout 


6 


Clara 


12 


Mineraria Silius 







Figure 6.— Locations of barite operations in Europe and Morocco. 



10 



BRAZIL 

Annual barite production in Brazil has been in the 
range of 100,000 to 120,000 mt. About half of this is pro- 
duced from the Camamu open pit mine located in Camamu 
Bay south of Salvador (Bahia) (fig. 7). This mine has been 
producing since about 1944 and was the only Brazilian mine 
evaluated in this study. 

The mining horizon averages about 2.5 m thick, and 
beneficiation consists of a minor amount of handsorting, 
followed by log washing and spirals. The operation is de- 
signed to produce about 52,000 mt/yr of mud-grade barite. 
In the past, most of the product has been shipped to grind- 
ing plants in Venezuela and Trinidad. 

Recent developments in Brazil include the construction 
of an IMCO Services plant to recover barite from a colum- 
bium (Cb) operation and a Magcobar-Cal Confriana joint 
venture to develop other barite deposits in Bahia (8). 



the Channaral district (fig. 7). In general, even these mines 
have a number of satellite mines that supply ore. 



FRANCE 

Nearly all the production in France is used for chemicals 
and fillers. Production has come from numerous deposits 
in the central Massif of central France. Operations 
evaluated in this study include the Barytine de Chaillac 
and Rossignol Mines (fig. 6). The Barytine de Chaillac open 
pit operation produces about 40 pet of France's total pro- 
duction; the ore is beneficiated in a relatively complex flota- 
tion process. About 80 pet of the concentrates are exported 
to the Federal Republic of Germany. 

The underground Rossignol fluorspar mine produces, as 
byproducts, about 9,000 mt/yr of mud-grade barite and 
about 6,000 mt/yr of lead-barite concentrates used for heavy 
aggregate; the ore is concentrated by heavy media. 




LEGEND 
• City or town 



500 

i ' 



1,000 

I 



X Mine 
A Deposit 

Figure 7.— Locations of barite operations in Brazil, Chile, and 
Peru. 



CHILE 

Production in Chile has been mainly from three areas; 
from north to south these are Coquimbas, Channaral, and 
Copiapo. Most of the production has been shipped to the 
Milchem Inc. grinding plants on the U.S. gulf coast. Ore 
resources for Chile have been estimated at about 8 Mmt 
in the Channaral and Copiapo areas (26), although the 
estimate includes a large area that has not been explored 
sufficiently to establish significant demonstrated resources. 

The majority of production comes from a large number 
of small operations over broad areas. These were not 
evaluated since the individual resources were relatively in- 
significant. This evaluation includes two producing opera- 
tions, Baritex and Resguardo, which are near the coast in 



FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY 

Evaluated West German barite mines include the Clara 
fluorspar-barite mine and the Dreislar Mine (fig. 6). All pro- 
duction from the operations is consumed domestically by 
the chemical and filler industries. The Clara flotation mill 
is located near Wolfach; the original barite operation was 
modified during the 1970's to include fluorspar recovery. 
The Dreislar Mine was first operated around 1870, and has 
been operating continuously since 1957. Milling is by jig- 
ging and flotation. 



GREECE 

Barite production has been from deposits on the islands 
of Mykonos and Milos. The Mykonos Mykobar Mine (fig. 
6) has generally accounted for 90 pet of the barite produced 
in Greece (about 40,000 to 45,000 mt/yr). Production began 
in 1953, but was suspended in late 1984 because of poor 
market conditions (12). 



INDIA 

Barite production in India declined from about 450,000 
mt in 1979 to about 323,000 mt in 1983. The reduced market 
demand had some impact on the production, but a major 
cause was internal policies and shipping restrictions on 
unground barite (26, p. 29). Exports to the United States 
have fluctuated widely in recent years (186,000 mt in 1979, 
21,000 mt in 1983). 

The two deposits evaluated, the state-owned 
Mangampet Mine and the adjacent privately owned Tiffin 
Mine, are located in the Mangampeta area near Cudappah 
and about 250 km northwest of the main shipping port of 
Madras (fig. 8). About 85 pet of the barite production in India 
is from the Cudappah area (19). Although Madras is the 
chief barite shipping port, some of the material must be 
railed to Bombay because of port congestion at Madras. 

The Mangampet Mine has been operating since 1977 
and has a capacity to produce about 360,000 mt/yr, although 
production has been in the order of 250,000 to 300,000 mt/yr 
because of market and shipping constraints. The adjacent 
Tiffin Mine is a relatively small producer, approximately 
24,000 mt/yr, and has been producing since 1970. 



11 



The Mangampet deposit has the largest resource of any 
known single deposit in the world. Because of the size and 
the unique character of the occurrence, the Government of 
India has designated part of the pit as a National Geological 
Monument. 

Total identified ore resources for Mangampet are 
estimated at a little over 70 Mmt. About half of this is in 
the high-grade ore (evaluated in this study), of which about 
16 Mmt is available at a stripping ratio of less than 4:1 (11). 
Information indicates that the Tiffin area could contain an 
identified ore resource of 1.4 Mmt (19); the evaluated 
resource amounts to 973,000 mt (1984). 

At both mines the stripping of the overburden is done 
by contract, while the mining of the ore is done by the mine 
labor force. The overburden removal is somewhat mecha- 
nized with the use of a dragline, loaders, and trucks. The 
ore is handsorted into grades of plus 78, 82, 90, and 93 pet 
BaS0 4 and loaded by hand into trucks for haulage to the 
crusher. 



CHINA 




• Crty or town 
X Mine 



Figure 8.— Locations of barite operations in India and Pakistan. 

IRELAND 

The Ballynoe Mine (fig. 6) with a capacity of about 
250,000 mt/yr, was evaluated for this study. The mine, 
operated by Magcobar (Ireland) Ltd., is located in Tipperary 
County about 60 km east of the port city of Foynes. 

The resources have been reported separately as ade- 
quate to cover 6 to 10 yr of production (in 1982) (23) and 
6 to 8 yr (in 1983) (18). The ore is of marketable grade and 
requires no beneficiation. 

Mining by open pit began in 1963. Over the life of the 
resource, the stripping ratio is estimated at 6:1; the cur- 
rent (1984) ratio is about 4:1. The ore is crushed, then hauled 
by truck and rail to the shipping port of Foynes, where about 
20 pet of the output can be ground. 



ITALY 

The majority of barite production in Italy is from the 
Iglesiantes area in southwestern Sardinia. The operations 
evaluated in this study include the Barego and Montego 
Mines and the Mineraria Silius S.p.A. fluorspar-barite 
operation (fig. 6). The Barego and Montego Mines are about 
60 km west of the Silius operations, which is located about 
50 km northeast of the main port city of Cagliari. All min- 
ing is underground. 

Barite at Barego is concentrated by jigging, while 
Montego uses flotation to produce a barite and lead concen- 
trate. All of the Barego concentrates are mud grade. About 
75 pet of the Montego production is in the form of chemical 
and filler grades. All of the barite is consumed domestically. 

Silius ore is concentrated by heavy media and flotation, 
producing chemical- and mud-grade barite, lead, and 
fluorspar concentrates. Smaller Silius operations and small, 
privately owned mines operated by contractors also provide 
ore to Silius. A flotation mill serving all Silius operations 
is located in the village of Assemini. 



MEXICO 

Most of the production in Mexico has come from mines 
in northern Mexico. In the past, the country has been a net 
importer of barite with an estimated pre- 1982 consumption 
of about 550,000 to 600,000 mt/yr (18). With the post-1981 
decline in drilling; however, the decrease in consumption 
(350,000 mt in 1984) has created a surplus. About 120,000 
to 130,000 mt/yr has been exported to the United States 
because the mines are located nearer to U.S. markets than 
to Mexican markets. 

The operations evaluated include the underground 
Barita de Santa rosa (Barosa) Mine complex near Musquiz, 
Coahuila, and the open pit Barita de Sonora Mine and 
Cobachi deposit (developing) 80 km east of Hermosillo, 
Sonora (fig. 9). The latter two deposits are relatively close 
(170 km) to the port of Guyamas on the western coast. Other 
producing operations are located in the States of Guerrero, 
Nuevo Leon, and Pueblo; however, because of their small 
size, none of these were included in the study. The La Minita 
Mine (110,000 mt/yr) in Michoacan was not evaluated 
because of a lack of data at the time of the study. 

Demonstrated resources evaluated in Mexico amount 
to a little over 10 Mmt of in situ material containing a little 
over 8 Mmt barite (as BaSO„). This quantity would produce 
about 6.6 Mmt of +4.2 sp gr product. All deposits have a 
certain amount (up to about 50 pet) of direct shipping ore; 
in general, this requires some handcobbing. The lower grade 
ores are treated either by tabling, flotation, or a combina- 
tion of both. 

The barite projected for domestic use would probably 
come from the operations in the State of Sonora (Barita de 
Sonora and Cobachi) where the material could be railed to 
the port of Guyamas and shipped by boat to the drilling 
area, mostly near Campeche. Development at Cobachi was 
planned to start in 1984 with production in 1986; however, 
this has been delayed because of poor market conditions. 



MOROCCO 

Barite production in Morocco increased steadily from 
1978 through 1982 (538,000 mt) and then decreased to 
275,000 mt in 1983 because of the worldwide cutback in 



12 




LEGEND 
• City or town 



500 
' 



1,000 



Scale, km 



tt Mine 
▲ Deposit 

Figure 9.— Locations of barite operations in Mexico and the United States. 



drilling. Four mines were evaluated in Morocco with a com- 
bined total resource just over 10.7 Mmt ore containing about 
8.6 Mmt barite. Production capacity of the mines evaluated 
is about 400,000 mt/yr. The mines evaluated include the 
Jbel Ihroud, Seksaoua, and Tessaout located in western 
Morocco and the Zelmu in the northeastern part of the coun- 
try (fig. 6). 

In recent years (since about 1978), from 40 to 60 pet of 
production was exported to the United States. Most of the 
remainder was destined for drilling in the North Sea. All 
of the barite produced is mud grade. 

The Jbel Ihroud Mine is located in the Ihroud Moun- 
tains of western Morocco about 90 km southeast of the port 
of Safi. The underground ore has been supplemented with 
reclaimed tailings from the older operations since 1979. A 
variable amount of selectively mined direct shipping ore 
is crushed and screened at the mine. The remainder of the 
ore is processed in a jig plant. 

The Seksaoua Mine is located a bout 160 km northeast 
of the port of Agadir, in the Western High Atlas Mountains. 
Mining is selective for high-grade ore which is upgraded 
by handsorting. The Tessaout Mine is a small (17,000 mt/yr) 
labor-intensive mine in which the resources are nearly 
depleted. 



The Zelmu Mine contains the largest resource in Mo- 
rocco; however, it is in a fairly remote area in northeastern 
Morocco. Mining is by open pit, and overburden is negligi- 
ble. The only processing required is crushing and screen- 
ing. The barite product is transported by truck-rail-truck 
to the port of Nador for shipment to the U.S. gulf coast and 
the North Sea. 



PAKISTAN 

Pakistan has been a minor producer of barite for a 
number of years with production of approximately 26,000 
mt/yr. Nearly all of this is from the Gunga Mine in the State 
of Baluchistan, about 400 km north of Karachi (fig. 8). Pro- 
duction began in 1976. The product is ground at the near- 
by village of Kuhdyar and trucked to Karachi (400 km) for 
domestic use or export. 



PERU 

Since most of the production in Peru is controlled by 
vertically integrated U.S. companies, the majority (70 to 



13 



90 pet) is exported to the United States. The remainder has 
largely been shipped to Europe. 

Production in recent years has been in the order of 
400,000 mt/yr, but dropped significantly in 1982-83 because 
of poor market conditions. By far, the majority of the pro- 
duction has come from the evaluated Graciela and Juanita 
Mines, which are operated as a Unit by Perubar. 

A small amount of barite is produced from the adjacent 
Minera Barmine property, which produces under contract 
to Perubar. Also included in the study was the undeveloped 
Chagla (Tingo Maria) deposit. The Graciela-Juanita Mines 
are located about 50 km east of Lima, while the Chagla 
deposit is about 500 km inland (fig. 7). 

The Graciela is an open pit mine and produces about 
70 pet of the ore. The adjacent Juanita Mine, on the same 
structure, was converted to an underground operation in 
1976. About 70 pet of the Juanita ore is direct shipping; the 
remainder is treated by flotation to recover barite, lead, and 
zinc. The Chagla deposit contains a significant amount of 
direct-shipping-grade ore, but the long shipping distance 
to a port has delayed development. 



SPAIN 

Barite production in Spain has been in the range of 
50,000 to 60,000 mt/yr of concentrate in recent years. Nearly 
all of this has come from the underground Guillermin-San 
Fernando area in Cordoba Province, and the La Carolina 
area in Jaen State (fig. 6). 

The Gullermin area consists of the main Guillermin 
Mine and several small satellite mines (including the San 
Fernando). The majority of the production has historically 
been as chemical grade; however, because of problems with 
grade and contaminants, future production will probably 
be mud grade. 

Resources at La Carolina have been estimated at 5 Mmt 
of material containing about 20 pet BaS0 4 (15). Mining is 
by open pit; jig processing has been difficult because of the 
brittleness of the ore, which produces excessive fines dur- 
ing crushing. Future plans include flotation to improve the 
recovery. 



THAILAND 

Barite production in Thailand has been subject to fluc- 
tuations from year to year (as much as 80 pet). This is 
because of the dependence on the level of drilling in near- 
by areas (particularly Indonesia). 

This study evaluated nine mines, five located in the 
northern provinces 500 to 600 km from Bangkok and four 
in the south on the peninsula north of Malaysia (fig. 10). 
Total demonstrated ore resources are estimated at 14.7 
Mmt. Of these, a little over 13.1 Mmt are located in the 
northern deposits. The individual deposit resources of the 
south ranged from about 100,000 to 600,000 mt, while in 
the north the range was about 1.5 to 4 Mmt. 

In terms of production capacity, the northern mines 
have a total capacity of over 206,000 mt/yr concentrates, 
while the capacity of those in the south is about 158,000 
mt/yr. The southern mines are sometimes shut down 
becaues of unstable political environments in the mining 
areas. 

There have been comparatively few geological studies 
made on the barite deposits of Thailand. Some of the in- 
dividual deposits have been described in a report by Scholia 



(22), which is a translation of a report by the Thailand 
Department of Mineral Resources. 

In Thailand, much of the mining is still from surface 
outcrops, with development requirements of a few 
kilometers of rudimentary access road, a drill, dozer, loader, 
and a few small trucks. Mining involves clearing the under- 
brush and blasting and excavating the ore; generally there 
is little or no overburden removal. Mining commences on 
the outcrop and follows it below the surface by gophering 
when the enclosing rock stands without support. 

Beneficiation generally consists of crushing and selec- 
tive screening followed by a minor amount of handsorting. 
Where there is excessive clay adhering to the barite, trom- 
mels are used for screening, and sometimes washers are 
used to reject the fines. The product of the crushing, screen- 
ing, and washing is nearly always handpicked for the final 
removal of gangue minerals. 

The barite from the northern mines is hauled by truck 
and/or rail about 500 to 600 km to Ang Thong for transfer 
to river boats (lighters) for shipment to Bangkok (100 km). 
At Bangkok, most of the barite is loaded on ships for 
transport to grinding plants located on Bintan Island, 
Malaysia (near Singapore). The southern operations are 
usually trucked a shorter distance (30 to 80 km) to ports 
and ship-loaded for transport to Bintan Island or for export 
to other countries. 

Much of the barite production in Thailand is controlled 
through ownership, leasing, or long-term purchase 
agreements by major well-servicing companies. NL Baroid, 
IMCO Services, and Dresser Industries have grinding 
facilities on Bintan Island. 




• City of lown 

* Mir* 



Figure 10.— Locations of barite operations in Thailand. 



14 



UNITED KINGDOM 

Production in the United Kingdom has come primarily 
from a number of small mining operations or plants pro- 
cessing tailings from base metal mines; these small opera- 
tions were not evaluated. This study evaluated the Aber- 
feldy deposit in Scotland and the Derbyshire fluorspar- 
barite operation (fig. 6), owned by Laporte Industries Ltd. 

The Aberfeldy deposit is located in Tayside, Scotland, 
about 70 km north of Glasgow. This deposit was discovered 
in 1975 by The Institute of Geological Sciences and was 
leased by Dresser Industries Inc. in 1979. Resource 
estimates include "a few million tons" (1, p. 361), produc- 
tion potential of 150,000 mt/yr for at least 20 yr (1 7), and 
"at least 2 Mmt" (1, p. 415). Tentatively, the mine is 
planned to replace the production of Dresser's Ballynoe 
Mine in Ireland when it becomes depleted, possibly by 1990. 

Laporte's Derbyshire operation consists of an 
underground mine at Sallet Hole on the Longstone Edge 
vein system and the Cavendish mill near Baxewell, where 
flotation is used to recover lead, fluorspar, and barite. Its 
nearby Lady wash operation was placed on temporary care 
and maintenance in 1979 due to deteriorating ground con- 
ditions and rising mining costs. Major resources exist to the 
west in the undisturbed Hucklow Edge, and at depths below 
present haulage levels. 

UNITED STATES 

In this study, 31 operations (34 deposits) were in- 
vestigated in the United States. There has been minor pro- 
duction from Alaska, California, Montana, New Mexico, and 
Tennessee; however, deposits in these States were not 
evaluated since individual deposit resources were very 
small. The evaluated in situ resources in the United States 
amount to a little over 186 Mmt material containing about 
54.5 Mmt barite (BaS0 4 ). 

Arkansas 

The two deposits included in this study are the 
McKnight (NL Baroid) and Fancy Hill (Milchem Inc.), 
located about 75 km west of Magnet Cove (fig. 9). The area 
is on the fringe of the Ouachita Mountains and generally 
is within the Ouachita National Forest. Both mines were 
shut down in 1982 because of a depressed market. The 
Fancy Hill Mine was briefly opened before activities were 
suspended, and the McKnight Mine produced on a small 
scale for about 3 yr. The Fancy Hill operation was developed 
to produce a flotation concentrate. For the purpose of this 
study, it is assumed that the flotation plant would be used 
for the McKnight ore as well. 

Georgia 

Barite has been produced in Georgia since 1916, when 
the Paga Mining Co. mine began operation near 
Cartersville in northwest Georgia. In 1926 the New River- 
side Ochre Co. began production at a mine located a few 
kilometers away (fig. 9). These mines have been producing 
nearly continuously since startup. Mining is on low-grade 
detrital deposits that occur over a relatively widespread 
area. Barite occurs mainly as residual concentrations in clay 
and as colluvial deposits. 

Production in recent years has approximated 30,000 to 
35,000 mt/yr concentrates; all product is in the form of 



chemical- and filler-grade barite. The mineralized area in 
which the barite occurs covers over 400 km 2 . The main 
barite enriched areas are currently being mined. 

Total ore resources for the area used in the evaluation 
amount to nearly 25 Mmt containing about 2.2 Mmt BaS0 4 ; 
however, there are undoubtedly more resources since the 
mineralized belt has not been fully explored. The resources 
included in the evaluation amont to about 30-yr life at the 
current production level. 

Mining in both operations is by open pit. Beneficiation 
consists of washing and breaking to remove the clay adher- 
ing to the coarser particles, followed by screening. In the 
Paga mill, the washer product is size-reduced in rod and 
ball mills, then treated by flotation. The New Riverside mill 
utilizes jigging and magnetic separation as well as flota- 
tion and produces a slightly higher grade and lower iron 
product. 

Illinois 

Barite is recovered as a byproduct from three proper- 
ties located in the Illinois-Kentucky fluorspar district (fig. 
9). The Barnett, Denton, and Henson Mines were produc- 
ing at the time of this study; however, Barnett and Hen- 
son were closed in 1985. All mines are underground; flota- 
tion is used to produce acid-grade fluorspar, chemical-grade 
barite, and lead and zinc concentrates. 



Missouri 

The nine barite deposits evaluated in Missouri are 
located in southeast Missouri in the same general area as 
the Viburnum lead belt (fig. 11). 

Barite in this area occurs as residual (detrital) ac- 
cumulation in a surficial clay horizon. The barite-rich zones 
occur irregularly throughout the area; the rich zones are 
normally spotted with pits from the earlier hand mining 
operations. The clay horizon is either flat or follows the 
gentle contour of the rolling hills and can vary in thickness 
from less than 1 m to about 7 m. 

Resources for evaluated Missouri deposits amount to 
about 91 Mmt of in situ material containing nearly 7 Mmt 
BaS0 4 . Grades vary from 6 to 10 pet. Because of low 
recoveries in beneficiation, about 4.6 Mmt would be pro- 
duced as concentrates. 

Production of the mud-grade barite began in the late 
1920's. There was a considerable amount of expansion in 
the 1970's, particularly after 1978, because of an increase 
in drilling activity. In late 1982, the worldwide decline in 
drilling activity plus an increase of cheaper foreign imports 
caused virtually all of the operations to shut down. During 
1983, there was some production from sockpiles, but no 
mine production was recorded. In late 1984, a few opera- 
tions producing chemical-grade barite and one mud-grade 
operation were resumed on a limited scale. Principal 
chemical-grade barite producers have been General Barite 
Co. and DeSoto Mining Co. Mud-grade barite has been pro- 
duced by Dresser Industries Inc., NL Baroid, and IMCO 
Services. 

Two grinding plants have been operated in the area, the 
Dresser Industries plant at Mineral Point and the NL 
Baroid plant at Cadet. In 1983, the plant at Cadet was being 
used to grind olivine for use in the Pea Ridge iron ore 
pelletizing facility. 

Mining is relatively simple since the deposits occur in 
unconsolidated material with little or no overburden. All 



15 



operations are essentially the same, except for differences 
in scale. Virtually all the beneficiation is by jigging. The 
material is broken up by rotary breakers, screened, and then 
processed in log washers and trommels to produce a jig feed. 
Recoveries are relatively low (50 to 60 pet), with most of 
the losses in the log washer fines. Recoveries in the coarser 
fraction (jig feed) average about 80 pet. The tailings con- 
tain generally 3 to 4 pet BaS0 4 . There has been some ex- 
perimental work done on the beneficiation of these tailings 
(27), but they have not been exploited commercially. 

A flotation mill to treat jig tailings from an operating 
plant (Apex-Mineral Point) was constructed by IMCO Ser- 
vices; however, because of the market depression, the plant 
was never operated. 




LEGEND 
• City or town 






/ Richwoods 


6 Cadet 


Artoof 
map 


2 Kingston 


7 Apex-Mineral Point 


3 Stone Spring 


8 Old Mines 


) 


4 Sun 


9 Dresser No. 10 




5 Dresser No. 4 





Scale, km 



Figure 1 1 .—Locations of barite operations in Missouri. 



Nevada 

About 85 to 90 pet of U.S. barite production is from 
Nevada, where 16 mines and deposits were evaluated, with 
demonstrated resources amounting to nearly 58 Mmt of in 
situ ore containing over 40 Mmt barite (BaSOJ. 

Most of the barite occurs in northern Nevada in Elko 
and Lander Counties in the vicinity of Battle Mountain and 
Wells; other evaluated deposits are located to the south in 
Nye County (fig. 12). 

The major operations in Nevada are owned by in- 
tegrated well service companies, and all have been produc- 
ing for a relatively long time. NL Baroid produces from the 



Rossi-Queen Lode Mine complex and operates the Dumphy 
plant, which consists of a beneficiation plant and a 
135,000-mt/yr fine grinding facility. IMCO Services operates 
the Mountain Springs Mine and beneficiation plant and has 
a 160,000-mt/yr grinding facility at Battle Mountain. The 
mine and mill are operated jointly by IMCO Services and 
FMC Corp. Milchem Inc. produces from the Argenta Mine 
and has a 165,000-mt/yr grinding plant near Battle Moun- 
tain. Dresser Industries operates the Greystone Mine and 
a 200,000-mt/yr-capacity grinding plant. 

The majority of the other operations, while they may 
have produced small amounts in earlier years, began pro- 
ducing significant quantities in the late 1970's; most of 
these operations were shut down in late 1982. 

Barite horizons occur in a belt up to about 35 km wide 
extending in a northeasterly direction across central 
Nevada. There are many small occurrences of barite 
throughout the extent of this belt, but the largest deposits 
are found in the previously mentioned Elko, Lander, and 
Nye Counties. A recent comprehensive report describes the 
geology and physical characteristics of all the Nevada barite 
deposits (20). 

Barite mining in Nevada is all by open pit. The over- 
burden is scraped where it is soft enough; otherwise, it is 
ripped or blasted. Collectively, about 20 pet of the over- 
burden is removed by scraping, about 45 pet is ripped, and 
the remainder is drilled and blasted. The ore is always 
drilled and blasted. The waste-to-ore ratio ranges between 
2:1 and 8:1 and averages 4.7:1. 

The mines are generally located on ridges or hilltops 
where no nearby mill sites are available. Most plants are 




LEGEND 


1 ■BlUrncrt 


1 Jungle 


9 Heavy Spar 


• City or town 
X Mine 


Mr* 


2 Stormy CrMfc 


10 Argento 


\»ev«o* 


3 Big Ledge 

4 Snoot* 


// Mountain Springs 

12 Sreyrrone 


A Depot rt 


\J 


5 Easy Miner 


a pas 


Hiqnwoy 




€ ftoeei-Queen Lode 


/* Kay 






7 Lakes 


IS Ann 


?.....¥ 


no 

■ 


8 Fill) Creek 


/« Eaet Northumberland 



Figure 12.— Locations of barite operations in Nevada. 



16 



located at some distance from the mines. These distances 
vary from 1 km to 2 km, in the few instances where the 
mill can be sited near the mine, to nearly 50 km. 

Beneficiation is nearly all by jigging, although in a few 
cases tabling or flotation is used on part of the jig tailings 
to improve overall recovery. In one operation, flotation was 
designed for all the feed. All of the mines that came on 
stream in the late 1970's used jigging; some of these plants 
were semiportable. 

Since 1982, most of the production has been in direct 
shipping ore, or that which can be upgraded by crushing 
and selective screening. This study, however, is based on 
mining the total resource at its average grade; the prac- 
tice of selectively mining only the high-grade ore will more 
rapidly deplete that part of the resource and reduce the 
average grade of the deposit. In terms of contained BaS0 4 , 
about 25 pet of the resources evaluated are estimated to be 
of direct shipping grade. 

The market area from the Nevada barite is assumed to 



be primarily in New Orelans, LA, Houston, TX, and 
Oklahoma. The most economical rate, based on a minimum 
unit rail shipment of about 6,500 mt, approximates $36/mt 
to $41/mt. The Nye County deposits are at a freight disad- 
vantage in that the barite must be trucked about 300 km 
to a railhead. 

Washington 

Washington has had minor barite production in recent 
years, mostly from small deposits in the northeastern part 
of the State. Two deposits (Flagstaff Mountain and Bruce 
Creek) in Stevens County, northeastern Washington (fig. 
9), were evaluated for this study. These were under develop- 
ment in early 1983. The deposits would be exploited in 
tandem and the ore would be processed in the Calhoun lead- 
zinc mill (American Zinc Co.), which as been adapted to 
barite flotation; the market would probably be the southern 
Canada drilling areas. 



ENGINEERING AND ECONOMIC ANALYSIS 



Engineering parameters evaluated include type of 
mining and milling, size of operation, physical factors of 
the location, type and utilization of equipment, energy 
utilization, haulage and long-distance transportation, per- 
sonnel efficiency, recoveries, byproduct value, etc. 

Capital and operating costs were estimated for each 
mine and deposit based on average costs of exploiting the 
entire resource. Capital costs include exploration, mine 
development, mine equipment, beneficiation plant, in- 
frastructure support facilities, and a 60-day working capital 
reserve fund. Operating costs include total direct and in- 
direct costs of the operation, such as labor, operation, and 
maintenance supplies; overhead and administrative costs; 
and research and technical costs. 

Transportation costs included truck, rail, and ocean 
shipping costs and were assigned to transport each product 
to known market areas (major drilling areas); these are the 
U.S. gulf coast, the North Sea, Indonesia, and Middle 
Eastern countries. 

Fine grinding costs are not included in this study. These 
are add-on costs that are relatively standard in the market 
areas, averaging $15/mt to $20/mt. Grinding is usually per- 
formed by the well-servicing companies and independent 
contractors near the areas of consumption. 

Local currency exchange rates are also a factor in the 
results of the cost estimates. While production costs have 
been influenced by local inflation between 1982 (the year 
costs were obtained) and 1984 (the year of evaluation), the 
devaluation of foreign currencies in relation to the U.S. 
dollar has resulted in an apparent decline of these local costs 
in U.S. dollar terms. The impact of exchange factors are 



most significant in Brazil, Mexico, and Peru. An average 
cost of production in 1982 of U.S. $60/mt, for example, has 
dropped in these countries to U.S. $18.69/mt, $27.52/mt, and 
$25.75/mt, respectively, by 1984. Exchange rates used in 
this evaluation are shown in appendix B. 



CAPITAL COSTS 

Capital costs were estimated for representative opera- 
tions that have been developed since 1980 or that are 
planned for future production. These costs, in terms of both 
1982 and 1984 U.S. dollars per annual metric ton of con- 
centrate, are shown in table 7. This indicates an apparent 
advantage of development in countries where the local cur- 
rency has lost strength in relation to the U.S. dollar since 
1982. Even after inflation is taken into account, initial star- 
tup costs are declining in U.S. dollar terms. 

The higher development costs in the United States 
generally represent a greater amount of required preproduc- 
tion stripping; the higher capital costs for beneficiation 
facilities indicate a greater complexity of the plants because 
of lower grade feed material. 

India, Pakistan, and Thailand are not shown in table 
7 because most have been in production over a number of 
years and the effect of undepreciated capital is not signifi- 
cant. In addition, the operations in India and Pakistan are 
Government-owned, and many services are supplied by the 
Government. Also in Thailand, mining is generally on sur- 
face exposures so that capital expenditures for mine develop- 
ment are minimal. 



Table 7.— Barite mining and beneficiation capital costs, by region 

(U.S. dollars per annual metric ton of barite concentrate capacity) 

Country or region Development M . inin 9 , Mine 

equipment plant 

United States: 1984 $5.60 $15.98 $6.89 

Mexico: 

1982 2.68 10.73 3.92 

1984 2.27 7.02 2.89 

Europe 1 and Morocco: 

1982 2.31 7.69 5.89 

1984 Z05 6£l 4.62 

'Includes Belgium, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, and the United Kingdom. 
Available data includes only crushing-screening plants. 



Beneficiation 



Total 
capital 



$33.09 

22.91 
17.55 

2.26 

2 .51 



$61.56 

40.24 
29.73 

16.15 
13.59 



17 



OPERATING COSTS 
Mining 

Open pit mining is used to mine approximately 88 pet 
of the demonstrated resources evaluted. In the United 
States, there has been some small-scale underground 
mining done for barite in the past, but with the exception 
of four underground Illinois fluorspar operations recover- 
ing byproduct barite, all mining is by open pit methods. Of 
the 39 non-U.S. mines and deposits evaluated, 25 are mined 
by open pit, 1 1 are underground, and 3 use both open pit 
and underground methods. 

In general, the barite ore occurs as well-defined units 
and has sharp contacts with the adjacent waste rock. 
Because of this, there is comparatively little dilution of the 
ore with barren country rock. In addition, the ore gener- 
ally occurs within calcareous rocks and requires relatively 
little mine roof support in underground mining. In fact, the 
relatively low unit value of the barite product would not 
allow for mining in ground conditions that required exten- 
sive support. Mining in the United States and Europe is 
generally highly mechanized. In low labor cost areas, high- 
grade ore horizons are mined manually or with only a small 
mount of equipment. 

In open pit mining, waste-to-ore ratios ranged from zero 
(no waste) to about 6:1. Open pit mining costs are shown 
by region in table 8. The U.S. deposits were segregated into 
hardrock, where ripping and blasting is required (Nevada, 
Arkansas, and Washington), and detrital, where little or 
no stripping is required and no ripping or blasting is needed 
(Georgia and Missouri). The stripping ratio for hardrock 
deposits averages between 4:1 and 5:1 for the U.S. mines 
and 2:1 and 3:1 for the non-U.S. mines. 

The per-ton cost difference between "ore plus waste" and 
"ore" is greatest for U.S. hardrock deposits, as a result of 
the higher stripping ratios. The mining cost per tone of ore 
for the detrital ores is the lowest of all operations, but 
because of the low-grade ores and low recoveries, these 
mines have the highest mining cost per ton of concentrate. 

Table 8. — Barite open pit mining costs, by region 

(January 1984 U.S. dollars per metric ton) 

Country or region °waste S 0re Concentrate 

Asia' $4.80 $5.95 $9.15 

Europe 2 2.90 7.20 11.85 

Mexico 1 .60 3.00 4.05 

Morocco 3.10 4.05 4.60 

South America 3 7.45 10.15 11.15 

United States: 

Detrital 4 1.10 1.45 19.35 

Hardrock 5 U30 10.45 17.80 

1 1ndia, Pakistan, and Thailand 

2 Belgium, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, and 
the United Kingdom. 
3 Brazil, Chile, and Peru. 
'•Georgia and Missouri. 
5 Arkansas, Nevada, and Washington. 



Mining costs for underground mines are generally 
higher than the open pit costs and range from $8/mt to 
$20/mt ore and from $10/mt to $45/mt concentrate. On a 
weighted-average basis, the underground mining costs are 
$12.34/mt ore ($18.60/mt concentrate). 



Beneficiation 

Barite is sold both as direct shipping and as beneficiated 
material. Direct shipping ore is sometimes upgraded 
slightly by crushing and selective screening or a small 
amount of handsorting. When crushed, the direct shipping 
ore is generally size reduced to 10 to 25 cm. In handsorting, 
usually about 1 to 5 pet of the material is sorted out as 
waste. Handsorting is generally not cost effective if more 
than 5 pet of the material has to be rejected. 

The most common type of beneficiation is jigging; in 
some operations tabling or flotation is used to treat jig tail- 
ings to improve recoveries, and in a few cases flotation is 
used as a primary method if the mineral liberation size is 
too fine for gravity methods. In terms of total capacity of 
the deposits evaluated, 26 pet is direct shipping, handsorted, 
or upgraded by selective screening; 48 pet is treated by jigs 
or other gravity methods; and 26 pet is upgraded by flota- 
tion. Detrital ores do not require crushing, only "breaking" 
to loosen the adhering clays. 

Jigging is normally used on ores of higher grade, usually 
above 70 pet BaS0 4 ; however, some jigging operations 
recover barite from ore grades as low as 60 pet, and even 
as low as 20 pet from one mine (with some sacrifice of 
recoveries). 

The feed to the jig is usually a maximum 1 cm to 2 cm 
in size, and the lower particle size limit is about 0.7 mm. 
Tables or spirals are generally used from 0.7 mm down to 
about 0.1 mm. There are some cases where old jig and base 
metal flotation tailings are being reclaimed by flotation 
treatment. Barite is also recovered by flotation as a 
byproduct of ongoing base metal and fluorspar flotation 
plants. 

Operating costs are generally in the range of $0.15/mt 
to $1.50/mt ore feed for handsorting or crushing, $2.50/mt 
to $5/mt for jigging, and $4.50/mt to $9/mt for the combin- 
ed processes (jigs, tables, and spirals) and flotation. 

Averge beneficiation costs range from a low of $0.62/mt 
concentrate for direct shipping ore and handsorting 
methods, to $13/mt for flotation concentrates. Cumulative 
quantity, feed, product, and cost data for the 60 evaluated 
deposits where barite is the primary product are shown in 
table 9. In this table, the average grades and recoveries for 
the jigging method are weighted by the low BaS0 4 grade 
(6 to 8 pet) of the Missouri detrital deposits. For jigging at 
the hardrock deposits, the grades and recoveries average 
about 65 pet and 75 pet, respectively. Beneficiation costs 
by region are shown in table 10. 



Table 9.— Barite beneficiation operating costs, by method 



'Deposits where barite is the primary commodity. 
2 Refers to recovery of contained BaSQ 4 . 



Beneficiation method 


Number 

of 
plants 1 


Annual 

ore feed, 

10 3 mt 


BaS0 4 

feed grade, 

pet 


Mill 

recovery, 2 

pet 


Total 

product, 

10 3 mt 


Weighted-average 
cost, $/mt 




Ore 


Product 


Run-of-mine, hand sort, crush 

Jig, gravity 


19 
26 
15 


2,120 
9,872 
3,986 


78.7 
31.2 
49.2 


96.6 
65.5 
81.1 


1,791 
2,582 
1,795 


$0.52 
2.89 
5.88 


$0.62 
11.04 


Flotation 


13.06 


Total or weighted average 


60 


15,978 


42.0 


73.5 


6,168 


3.32 


8.60 



18 



Table 10.— Barite beneficiation operating costs, by region 

(January 1984 U.S. dollars per metric ton) 

Country or region Ore Concentrate 

Asia 1 $1.48 $2.83 

Europe 2 4.79 9.24 

Morocco .57 .65 

Mexico 2.58 3.44 

South America 3 6.24 6.88 

United States: 

Detrital" 1 .28 30.53 

Hard rock" 6^07 10.33 

1 lndia, Pakistan, and Thailand. 

2 Belgium, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, and 
the United Kingdom. 
'Brazil, Chile, and Peru. 
"Georgia and Missouri. 
s Arkansas, Nevada, and Washington. 



Personnel 

Regional personnel costs, as a percentage of combined 
mining and milling costs, productivities, and labor rates, 
are shown in table 11. The percentage of personnel costs 
was calculated for all personnel (i.e., labor, management, 
and administrative). The labor rates are an estimated 
weighted average of the regions and include fringe benefits. 
This table indicates that personnel costs generally comprise 
from about one-third to three-fourths of the mining and mill- 
ing operating costs for the operations evaluated. The higher 
productivity figures for the United States and Europe are 
offset by higher labor rates, thus decreasing the overall im- 
pact of productivity. (Refer back to tables 8 and 10.) 

Table 1 1 .—Barite mining and beneficiation personnel 
productivity and labor rates, by region 

Personnel Annual 

Personnel costs, productivity, labor 

Country or pet of mining mt/worker-shift rate per 

region and benefi- Concen - worker,' 

ciation costs Qre ^™g n 1Q3$ ' 

Europe 2 52 11.8 6.3 15.2 

India and Pakistan 60 1.6 1.6 1.2 

Mexico 34 7.4 5.4 6.3 

Morocco 47 2.9 2.5 1.6 

South America 3 55 3.8 2.9 3.8 

Thailand 74 5.7 2.9 .6 

United States: 

Detrital" 49 72.0 3.6 28.0 

Hardrocks 52 13.9 8.3 31.0 

1 Labor only including fringe benefits in 1982 U.S. dollars; does not include 
clerical, technical, or supervisory personnel. 

2 Belgium, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, and 
the United Kingdom. 

3 Brazil, Chile, and Peru. 

"Georgia and Missouri. 

5 Arkansas, Nevada, and Washington. 



TRANSPORTATION 

Transportation is a major cost in the distribution of 
barite. Most of the barite must be transported comparatively 
long distances either by rail, as in the United States, or by 
ocean shipping for most of the non-U. S. mines. 

Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma are the largest users 
of barite, accounting for nearly 70 pet of U.S. consumption 
in 1983. Transportation distances from Nevada to Houston, 
New Orleans, and Oklahoma average about 3,500, 3,700, 
and 2,200 km, respectively. Rail shipping costs from major 
shipping points in Nevada (Battle Mountain, Carlin, Dum- 
phy, and Wells— which would service operations in Elko and 
Lander Counties) to the gulf coast areas are estimated at 
$36/mt to $41/mt for unground barite. Shipping costs from 
the Nye County operations are estimated at $45/mt to 



$50/mt, because of the necessary 300-km truck haul to the 
railhead. Shipping of ground barite to these States is pro- 
hibitive, generally costing an additional $15/mt to $20/mt 
for the same quantity of material. 

Ocean shipping to market areas is less expensive than 
U.S. rail shipping to the gulf coast. Selected estimated ocean 
shipping rates for 1982 are shown in table 12. As estimated 
in this study, shipment to the U.S. gulf ports from points 
in South America and Morocco would be no more than 
$12/mt. In early 1985, freight rates were down and 
shipments of 20,000 to 25,000 mt of barite were reported 
as low as $7/mt from Morocco to the gulf coast. From 
Thailand to the gulf coast, shipping costs are estimated at 
$20/mt to $25/mt. The shipping rates from China were 
reported at $20/mt to $24/mt in 1982 (26). 

Table 12.— Selected barite ocean shipping costs (26) 

Cost, 
Destination and country of origin 1982 $/mt 

To Mexico from India 24 

To the North Sea from Morocco 10-12 

To U.S. gulf coast from— 

Chile 8-10 

China 20-24 

India 16-17 

PRODUCTION COST SUMMARY 

The weighted-average percentage distribution of the 
elements of production costs for non-U.S. and U.S. barite 
properties grouped by region is shown in table 13; weighted- 
average cost elements for mud-grade operations only are 
shown by region in figure 13. All costs are in terms of U.S. 
dollars per metric ton of recoverable barite concentrate. 



KEY 



CD 
ID * 



UJ 




Asia Morocco Latin Europe United 
America States 

Figure 13.— Regional weighted-average total cost of produc- 
tion for primary barite mud-grade concentrates. 



19 



Miscellaneous costs represent that portion of the 
average total cost not included in mining and milling 
operating costs or transportation costs. This includes the 
cost of capital recovery, loan interest payments, taxes, and 
royalties. Byproduct revenues were credited against the 
miscellaneous portion. Total costs represent achievement 
of a 0-pct DCFROR. 

The Asian countries and Morocco have the lowest pro- 
duction costs at $32/mt to $40/mt concentrate. These coun- 
tries benefit from low labor costs; most of the production 
is direct shipping ore, with minimal handsorting and 
crushing as the only beneficiation costs. However, some 
deposits in Morocco and deposits in northern Thailand have 
high truck and rail costs to transport concentrates from the 
interior to the port for export. 

The weighted-average total cost ($43/mt concentrate) for 
the Latin American countries was influenced by the higher 
cost Mexican operations; costs at most operations in Brazil, 
Chile, and Peru were between $32/mt and $37/mt concen- 
trate. European countries experience higher labor costs and 
higher beneficiation costs, bringing the weighted-average 
total cost to just under $48/mt concentrate. 

Operations in the United States have the highest 
weighted-average total cost of production ($71/mt concen- 
trate) of all properties evaluated because of higher labor 
costs, lower ore grades, and long distances to market areas. 



Table 13.— Percentage distribution of barite production costs 

(Number of mines and deposits) 

Production cost range 

0-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 71-80 
pet pet pet pet pet pet pet pet 

Mining: 

Non-United 

States 3 10 12 10 2 1 1 

United States 3 13 5 5 1 2 2 

Total 3 13 25 15 8 2 3 2 

Beneficiation: 

Non-United States . 21 6 7 1 2 2 

United States 1 13 9 6 2 

Total 22 19 16 7 4 2 

Transportation: 

To port: Non-United 

States 18 6 6 3 1 3 2 

To railhead: United 

States 30 1 

Total 48 7 6 3 1 3 2 

To market: 
Non-United 

States 5 7 10 10 7 

United States . 8 1 6 4 6 6 
Total 13 8 16 14 13 6 

Miscellaneous: 1 

Non-United States . 20 18 1 

United States 1 20 9 1 

Total 21 38 9 1 1 

1 Miscellaneous costs represent that portion of total costs, at a breakeven 
(0-pct) DCFROR, not included in mining, beneficiation, or transportation costs. 
Breakeven allows for recovery of capital costs but no profit. 



AVAILABILITY 



Of the 66 barite operations evaluated, 52 recovered only 
a drilling mud-grade barite product; 5 recovered several 
grades of barite products; and 9 recovered only chemical 
and/or filler grades. Byproducts, such as lead, zinc, silver, 
and fluorspar, were recovered from 10 operations. 



MUD-GRADE BARITE 

The total availability of mud-grade barite recoverable 
as concentrates (110 Mmt) is shown in figure 14. As il- 
lustrated, the costs including the 15-pct DCFROR increases 
more toward the high end of the curve where undeveloped 




0-pct DCFROR 



-*- 



RECOVERABLE BARITE, Mmt 





■1 




■ — I 1 


i 


i 




K» 


- 




! 






_ 


6 






i — J 








*» 90 






r--! 






- 


1 

2 75 


United stoles. 


r J 






- 


S 

C 




,--.'' 










"> 60 
en 






Non-US . v 






- 


u 

-1 «5 


^ 






O 


r 1 -^ 




30 

5 
















5 10 


58 


SB 48 


SB 


60 


■•To 



Figure 14.— Cost and total availability of mud-grade barite at 
0-pct and 15-pct DCFROR. 



RECOVERABLE BARITE, Mmt 

Figure 15.— Comparison of total availability of mud-grade 
barite from U.S. and non-U.S. operations at a 15-pct DCFROR. 

operations are more prevalent. As previously explained, 
established operations have already recovered initial capital 
expenditures and have fewer costs to cover prior to making 
the 15-pct DCFROR. Note that the total costs represent 
long-run constant 1984 dollar values that include the ex- 
ploitation of the total demonstrated resource. A comparison 
of the U.S. and non-U.S. resources available at 15-pct 
DCFROR is shown in figure 15. The U.S. resources total 
just over 42 Mmt, and the foreign operations contribute 
almost 68 Mmt. 

A comparison of the availability of U.S. and non-U.S. 
mud-grade operations at various price levels (depicted in 
figure 15) is shown in table 14. About 40 pet of the U.S. 



20 



Table 14.— Comparison of available barite concentrates from U.S. 
and non-U. S. producing mines and nonproducing deposits 1 

(Million metric tons) 

a , . , . no*/ .? Up to Up to Up to Up to Up to 

Av total cost.... US$/mtz.... $ K 60 $ K 75 $ K 90 $ !f 05 $ lf 20 

U.S.: 

Producing mines 16,957 17,131 17,131 17,131 17,131 

Nonproducing deposits .. . 9,927 14,473 21,862 25,220 

Non-U.S.: 

Producing mines 53,390 57,462 60,596 60,861 61,134 

Nonproducing deposits . . . 2,000 6,652 6,652 6,652 6,652 

Grand total 72,347 91,172 98,852 106,506 110,137 

'Includes the 60 mines and deposits where barite is the principal commodity. 
2 Average total cost includes all costs to deliver concentrates to market areas 
and includes a 15-pct DCFROR; table cumulates at increasing costs. 



resources are available at an average total production cost 
of $60/mt, whereas 79 pet of the foreign resources are 
available at this average total cost. 

CHEMICAL- AND FILLER-GRADE BARITE 



8 



15-pct DCFROR 



^_.J 



P 



' Opel DCFROR 



RECOVERABLE BARITE, Mmt 



Figure 16.— Cost and total availability of chemical- and filler- 
grade barite at 0-pct and 15-pct DCFROR. 



The total availability from 14 operations proposed to 
recover unground chemical- and filler-grade barite is shown 
in figure 16. This illustration includes curves representing 
the 0-pct (breakeven) and 15-pct DCFROR. Market prices 
for products were averaging between $80/mt and $165/mt 



in early 1984, and all of the evaluated tonnage recovered 
was potentially available below $150/mt, including a 15-pct 
DCFROR. Nearly 43 pet (2.3 Mmt) could potentially be pro- 
duced for less than $95/mt, an average U.S. market price 
in 1984. 



SUMMARY 



Since over 90 pet of the barite produced is used as drill- 
ing mud, barite production levels vary according to the 
amount of oil and gas well drilling activity. 

As of January 1984, demonstrated resources for 
evaluated properties amount to about 130 Mmt contained 
BaSO,; this could produce approximately 115 Mmt concen- 
trates. With the addition of 98 Mmt of inferred resources, 
the total identified resource is about 213 Mmt. As previously 
stated, resource estimates based on available data are con- 
sidered to be conservative. Because of an extremely fluc- 
tuating market, most mining companies do not explore 
beyond a few years of production. 

The United States will continue to rely heavily on im- 
ports in the future. Supply interruptions from individual 
countries would probably only affect the market in the short 
term, since there is such a broad production base (about 35 
countries). Mining and beneficiation of barite is relatively 
simple, and production levels often fluctuate widely depend- 
ing on demand in the drilling industry. If capacity were lost 
in one area of the world, it would be fairly easily compen- 
sated for by production increases in other areas. For exam- 
ple, Thailand's production in the southern region is inter- 
mittent as a result of political unrest, but this does not 
significantly impact the market in that area. 

Although China is the largest producer of barite, the 
United States produces the largest tonnage of the market 
economy countries (MEC's), followed by Morocco, Peru, Mex- 
ico, India, and Chile. China's production is available 
delivered to MEC's at economic prices, and has gradually 
taken over portions of the market previously held by other 
countries. China was not included in the study because of 
the lack of available data at the time of the study (1982). 

Mining costs average 10 to 40 pet of total costs for 57 
of the 66 properties evaluated. Beneficiation costs are fairly 
uniform for run-of-mine, handsorting, and crushed ores, at 



less than 10 pet of total costs. Costs for jigging and flota- 
tion methods were higher; but overall, beneficiation costs 
were less than 30 pet of total costs for 80 pet of the opera- 
tions evaluated. 

The cost of transportation to the port of export, or 
railhead (United States), were less than 10 pet of total cost 
for 48 of the operations, but the transportation cost to 
market areas for all 66 properties ranged up to 60 pet of 
total costs. 

Of the 66 barite operations evaluated, 52 recovered drill- 
ing mud-grade products, 5 recovered several barite prod- 
ucts, and 9 recovered only chemical and filler grades. In- 
cluding a 15-pct DCFROR, approximately 59 pet of the mud- 
grade barite is potentially available below $60/mt. Likewise, 
nearly 43 pet of the chemical-grade barite is potentially 
available below $95/mt. All of the chemical-grade concen- 
trates evaluated could be recovered at costs below $150/mt. 

The 1984 barite production capacity levels estimated 
for producing mines evaluated in the study totaled about 
3.2 Mmt, which is approximately equal to the 1984 produc- 
tion reported for these countries, or about 82 pet of the total 
1984 MEC production of nearly 3.4 Mmt. Total world capa- 
city estimated for 1984 was 7.8 Mmt. 

Even if the United States produces at capacity, it can- 
not meet its own demand. In 1984, U.S. apparent consump- 
tion was about 2.6 Mmt of barite concentrates, and 1.6 Mmt 
(61 pet) of that was imported. About 52 pet of the U.S. 
resources, currently considered marginal, were in produc- 
tion during the 1979-82 period of high demand for drilling- 
mud grades. Most of these operations are now shut down; 
however, they could resume production with a relatively 
short preproduction period. 

The United States will continue to depend upon other 
nations, primarily China, India, Morocco, Mexico, and Peru, 
for a percentage of its barite needs. Between 1979 and 1983, 



21 



U.S. imports represented 48 pet of domestic consumption. 
Competition from lower cost imports make long transpor- 
tation distances from Nevada, where the majority of the 
domestic resources are located, difficult to overcome. 

The current (1984) strength of the U.S. dollar causes the 
costs in certain countries to appear lower than may be ex- 



pected. While most currencies have declined in value 
against a strong U.S. dollar, Brazil, Peru, and Mexico have 
seen the greatest decline in their currency values over the 
last few years. Devaluation will lower prices proportionately 
on imports from countries experiencing the devaluation. 



REFERENCES 



1. A.C.A. Howe International Ltd. Mineral Exploration in the 
U.K. Min. Mag., v. 147, No. 5, 1982, pp. 359-361, 415. 

2. American Petroleum Institute. API Specifications for Oil- Well 
Drilling Fluid Materials. API Spec. 13A, 1981, pp. 2-13. 

3. Ampian, S. G. Barite. Ch. in BuMines Minerals Yearbook 
1983, v. 1, p. 121. 

4. Barite. Ch. in Mineral Facts and Problems, 1985 Edi- 
tion. BuMines B 675, 1985, pp. 65-74. 

5. Berthoumieux, G. The Industrial Minerals of France. Pro- 
ceedings of the Third Industrial Minerals International Congress 
(Paris, Mar. 13-15, 1980), Ind. Miner. (London), 1980, p. 17. 

6. Brown and Root Development, Inc. Development of Engineer- 
ing and Cost Data for Foreign Antimony and Barite Properties (con- 
tract J0255017). BuMines OFR 53-85, 1984, 31 pp., NTIS 
PB85-202984. 

7. Bureau de Recherches Geologique et Mines. Development of 
the Barite Deposit at Chaillac, France. Company Brochure, 1978, 
p. 2. 

8. Castelli, A. V. Barite. Eng. and Min. J., v. 185, No. 3, 1984, 
p. 93. 

9. Davidoff, R. L. Supply Analysis Model (SAM): A Minerals 
Availability System Methodology. BuMines IC 8820, 1980, 45 pp. 

10. Engineering and Mining Journal. Markets. V. 185, No. 2, 
Feb. 1984, p. 27. 

11. Geological Survey of India. Volcanogenic Bedded Barytes, 
Mangampeta, Andhra Pradesh, India. June 12, 1982, p. 4. 

12. Griffiths, J. Hellenic Industrial Minerals. Ind. Miner. (Lon- 
don), No. 208, Jan. 1985, p. 25. 

13. Industrial Minerals (London). Freights. No. 192, May 1984, 
p. 53. 



14. 
15. 
16. 



.. Prices. No. 191, July 1984, p. 81. 
.. Unibario's Andalucian Jig. No. 172, Aug. 1982, p. 38. 
No. 211, Apr. 1985, p. 83-89. 



17. Mining Journal (London). Mining Annual Review. June 1982, 
p. 118. 

18. Mining Magazine. Open Pit Barytes Mining at Ballynoe, 
Ireland. V. 184, No. 3, Mar. 1983, p. 194. 

19. Murty, M. S. Barytes Development in Cudappah. Indian Min. 
and Eng. J., v. 20, No. 10, 1982, p. 17. 

20. Papke, K. G. Barite in Nevada. NV Bur. Mines and Geol. 
Bull. 98, 1984, 125 pp. 

21. Pettifer, L. The Industrial Minerals of Belgium. Ind. Miner. 
(London), No. 160, Sept. 1981, p. 41. 

22. Scholia, P. Mines and Mineral Deposits of Thailand. Thailand 
Dep. Miner. Resour., Bull. 5, 1975; Engl, transl., 1981, pp. 28-46. 
Available upon request from J. S. Coffrnan, BuMines, Denver, CO. 

23. Smith, M. Industrial Minerals of Ireland. Ind. Miner. (Lon- 
don), No. 166, Mar. 1982, p. 39. 

24. U.S. Bureau of Mines. Minerals Yearbooks, 1979-84. Chapter 
on Barite. 

25. U.S. Bureau of Mines and the U.S. Geological Survey. Prin- 
ciples of a Resource/Reserve Classification of Minerals. U.S. Geol. 
Surv. Circ. 831, 1980, 11 pp. 

26. Watson, I. Barites, U.S. Drilling Downturn Weighs Heavily 
on the Market. Ind. Miner. (London), No. 183, Dec. 1982, pp. 21-54. 

27. Wharton, H. M. Barite Ore Potential of Four Tailings Ponds 
in the Washington County Barite District, MO Geol. Surv. and 
Water Resour., Rep. Inv. 53, 1972, 99 pp. 

28. World Mining. Garrot - Chaillac Will Mine the 8,000,000-ton 
Rossignol Barite Deposit. V. 28, No. 9, Aug. 1975, p. 84. 



22 



APPENDIX A.— METHODOLOGY 



The Bureau of Mines is developing a continuously evolv- 
ing methodology for the analysis of long-run mineral 
resource availability. An integral part of this system is the 
supply analysis model (SAM) (9) developed by personnel of 
the Bureau's Minerals Availability Field Office. This in- 
teractive computer system is a mathematical tool for analyz- 
ing the effects of various parameters upon the economic > 
analysis of mineral deposits. 



COST ESTIMATION 

For each operation included in this evaluation, capital 
expenditures were calculated for exploration, acquisition, 
development, mine plant and mine equipment, and mill con- 
struction and equipment. The capital expenditures for the 
different mining and processing facilities include working 
capital and the costs of mobile and stationary equipment, 
construction, engineering, and infrastructure. Infrastruc- 
ture is a broad category that includes costs for access and 
haulage facilities, ports, water facilities, power supply, and 
personnel accommodations. Working capital is a revolving 
cash fund required for operating expenses such as labor, 
supplies, insurance, and taxes. All costs were in U.S. dollar 
terms. 

The initial capital costs for producing or past produc- 
ing mines and developed deposits have been depreciated 
starting in the actual investment year. The undepreciated 
balance has been treated as a capital investment in 1984, 
the base year for this evaluation. Reinvestments will vary 
according to capacity, production life, and age of the 
facilities. Where appropriate, all costs have been updated 
to 1984 U.S. dollars according to local currency factors and 
individual country inflation indices, weighted propor- 
tionately by the impact of labor, energy, and capital in the 
barite industry on a countrywide basis. 

After production parameters and costs for the develop- 
ment of barite deposits were established, the SAM was used 
to perform various economic evaluations pertaining to the 
potential availability of drilling mud and chemical grades 
of barite. The SAM system is a comprehensive economic 
evaluation simulator that is used to determine the constant- 
dollar long-run price at which the primary commodity 1 must 
be sold to recover all costs of production, given a prespecified 
discounted-cash-flow rate of return (DCFROR) on invest- 
ment, less all byproduct revenues. The DCFROR is defin- 
ed as that rate which makes the present value of all cur- 
rent and future revenues equal to the present value of all 
current and future costs of production. For this study, 
constant-dollar real rates of return on investment of both 
pet (breakeven) and 15 pet were specified. The rate of 15 
pet was considered the minimum sufficient to attract new 
capital to the industry. 



TAXES 

The SAM system contains a separate tax records file 
for each State and country that includes all the relevant 



tax parameters under which a mining firm would operate. 
These tax parameters are applied to each mineral deposit 
under evaluation with the implicit assumption that each 
deposit represents a separate corporate entity. In reality, 
properties belonging to the same corporation would have 
certain tax advantages not assumed for this evaluation. 
Other items accounted for include standard deductibles such 
as depreciation, depletion, deferred expenses, investment 
tax credits, and tax loss carryforwards. The SAM also con- 
tains a separate file of economic indexes to allow for up- 
dating all cost estimates. 



COMMODITY PRICES 

Price files are maintained in the SAM for all com- 
modities that will be relevant to the availability analyses, 
and all commodities recovered in the analyses are con- 
sidered to be marketable. 

For operations recovering commodities other than 
barite, set prices were established, and any resulting 
revenues (credits) were deducted from the total revenues 
required to cover all costs at the prespecified DCFROR (0 
pet or 15 pet). The revenues remaining after removal of 
byproduct revenues were the total barite revenues. The 
byproduct commodity prices used in this study are shown 
in table A-l. 

In order to compare the average total cost and availabil- 
ity of each barite product where a mine produced both mud- 
grade and chemical-grade barite, the total barite revenues 
determined were apportioned between the barite products 
according to the 1985 market price differential 2 for each 
product. 

The price proportions allow revenues to be divided be- 
tween coproducts according to their relative market value, 
rather than assigning a price for one barite product and 
determining a price for the other. In the United States, for 
example, unground mud-grade barite was assigned the fac- 
tor 0.60 (corresponding to the price of $60/mt), while 
unground chemical and filler grades were given a factor of 
0.95 (price of $95/mt). This would result in revenues being 
split such that the mud-grade revenues determined were 
approximately 63 pet of the chemical- and filler-grade 
revenues. 



AVAILABILITY CURVES 

Detailed cash-flow analyses are generated with the SAM 
system for each preproduction and production year of a mine 
or deposit beginning with the initial year of analysis (1984). 
Upon completion of the individual analyses for each deposit, 
all properties were simultaneously analyzed and aggregated 
into an availability curve. 

The availability of each barite product recovered from 
a deposit is presented as a function of the total cost of pro- 
duction associated with that product from each deposit. 
Availability curves are constructed as aggregations of the 



'For this evaluation, all barite products were considered to be primary; 
thus, revenues were proportioned according to the relative value of each 
product. There is further discussion on price proportioning in the Commodity 
Prices section of this appendix. 



2 For modeling purposes and comparison between operations, this evalua- 
tion assumes that a relationship exists between market prices and the 
average total cost of production. 



23 



total amount of commodity potentially available from each 
of the evaluated operations, ordered from the deposits hav- 
ing the lowest average total cost per unit of production to 
those having the highest. 

Certain assumptions are inherent in these curves. First, 
all deposits will produce at the estimated or proposed capa- 
city used in this analysis throughout the life of the deposit. 
Second, each operation will be able to sell all of its output 
at the determined total cost and obtain at least the 
minimum specified rate of return. Byproducts are con- 
sidered to be sold at the prices listed in table A-l. Third, 
all preproduction development of all undeveloped deposits 
began in January 1984. 



Table A-1 .—Byproduct prices used in economic evaluations (10) 



Commodity 

Aggregate, limestone per mt . 

Fluorspar: 
European: 

Acid-grade per mt . 

Metallurgical-grade per mt . 

U.S.: 

Acid-grade per mt . 

Metallurgical-grade per mt . 

Gold per tr oz . 

Lead per lb . 

Silver per tr oz . 

Zinc per lb . 



Price, 
January 1984 

$3.75 



110.00 
80.00 

171.00 
125.00 
370.89 

.25 
8.18 

.49 



24 



APPENDIX B.— OWNERSHIP OF BARITE PROPERTIES 



Country, state, and deposit Owner 

Belgium: Fleurus NL Baroid (Division of NL Industries Inc.); Belgian Government. 

Brazil: Camamu Baroid Pigmina Industrial e Comercial S.A. (subsidiary of NL Industries Inc.). 

Chile: 

Baritex-Resguardo Cia. Minera Baritex (Baritex); Cia. Minera Resguardo (Resguardo). 

France: 

Barytine de Chaillac Kali-Chemie AG (Federal Republic of Germany). 

Rossignol Societe Industrielle du Centre (SIC). 

Germany, Federal Republic of: 

Clara Sachtleben Bergbau GmbH (subsidiary of Metallgesellschaft AG). 

Dreislar Do. 

Greece: Mykonos Mykobar Mykonos Mykobar Mining Co. (subsidiary of Dresser Industries Inc.). 

India: 

Mangampet Andhra Pradesh Mining Corp. (a state government company). 

Tiffin Tiffin Barytes, Asbestos and Paints, Ltd. 

Ireland: Ballynoe Magcobar (Ireland) Ltd. (subsidiary of Dresser Industries Inc.). 

Italy: 

Barego Bariosarda Co. (Sardinia) (state-owned company). 

Mineraria Silius Mineraria Silius S.p.A. 

Montego Bariosarda Co. 

Mexico: 

Barita de Santa Rosa (Barosa) IMCO Services Div., Halliburton Co.; the Martinez family. 

Barita de Sonora Barita de Sonora, S.A. de C.V. (a government company). 

Cobachi Minera Baucarit S.A. de C.V. and FMC Corp.; Protexa S.A. 

Morocco: 

Jbel Ihroud Cie. Marocaine des Barytes (COMABAR). 

Seksaoua S.A. Cherifienn d'Etudes Minieres (SACEM). 

Tessaout Societe Maorocaine de Travoux et d'Exploitation (SOMATREX). 

Zelmu Cie. Maorocaine des Barytes (COMABAR). 

Pakistan: Gunga Bolan Barytes Ltd. (joint venture of Baluchistan Government and Pakistan 

Petroleum Ltd. (PPL). 
Peru: 

Chagla (Tingo Maria) Baramine (last known owner). 

Graciela-Juanita and Minera Barmine Perubar (NL Industries, Inc.); the workers (Gracieia-Juanita); Minera Baratina 

S.A. (Peru) (Minera Barmine). 
Spain: 

Gullermin-San Fernando Mina de Baratina S.A. 

La Carolina IMCO Services (purchased from Unibario, late 1984). 

Thailand: 

Attbar-Thung Wa American Thai Barite Co. Ltd. (subsidiary of NL Industries). 

Ban Hin Khao P&S Mining Co. Ltd. (Thailand). 

Khao Mai Phai Do. 

Nidhi Nidhi Mining Co. Ltd. (Thailand) 

Oriental Gold IMCO Services and Mr. Suntat Suksti (Bangkok). 

Siam Barite Universal Mining Co. Ltd. (Thailand) (owner); American Thai Barite Co. Ltd. 

(leasee). 

STA STA Mining Co. Ltd. (Thailand). 

Tip Tip Mining Co. Ltd. (Thailand). 

United Kingdom: 

Aberfeldy Dresser Industries Inc. 

Derbyshire Laporte Industries Ltd. 

United States: 

Arkansas: Fancy Hill-McKnight Milchem Inc. (Fancy Hill); NL Baroid (McKnight). 

Georgia: 

New Riverside New Riverside Ochre Co. 

Paga Paga Mining Co. (Div. of Cyprus Thompson Weinman Co. Inc.). 

Illinois: 

Barnett Ozark-Mahoning Co. 

Denton Do. 

Henson Do. 

Missouri: 

Apex-Mineral Point IMCO Services 

Cadet NL Baroid, (Div. of NL Industries Inc.). 

Dresser No. 4 Dresser Industries Inc. 

Dresser No. 10 Do. 

Kingston DeSoto Mining Co. (operator); Pfizer Co. Inc. (owner). 

Old Mines General Barite Co. Inc. 

Richwoods DeSoto Mining Co. (operator), Pfizer Co., Inc. (owner). 

Stone Spring NL Baroid. 

Sun General Barite Co. Inc. 

Nevada: 

Ann Privately owned. 

Argenta Milchem Inc. 

East Northumberland All Minerals Inc. 

Easy Miner A. W. Arnold and Associates 

Fish Creek New Park Resources. 

Greystone Dresser Industries Inc. 

Heavy Spar New Park Resources. 

Kay Chromalloy Corp. 

Lakes NL Baroid. 

Mountain Springs FMC Corp. (resources); IMCO Services (processing). 

P&S Standard Slag. 

Rossi-Queen Lode NL Baroid. 

Snoose-Big Ledge-Jungle Chromalloy Corp. 

Stormy Creek Old Soldier Minerals Co. 

Washington: Flagstaff Mountain — 

Bruce Creek C. E. Minerals Div., Combustion Engineering Co. 



25 



APPENDIX C— EXCHANGE RATES PER U.S. DOLLAR AND COMPARISON OF 
COSTS BETWEEN 1982 AND 1984 FOR COUNTRIES EVALUATED 

Country Local 

' currency 

Brazil Cruziero 

Peru Sole 

Mexico Peso 

Chile . . do 

Greece Drachma 

Spain Pesato 

Morocco Dirham 

France Franc 

United Kingdom Pound 

Ireland . .do 

Italy Lira 

Pakistan Rupee 

India . . do 

Federal Republic of Germany Mark 

Thailand Baht 



Local currency/US $ 


1982 $60/mt 
converted 


Change, 
1982 to 


1982 


1984 


to 1984 


1984, pet 


179.510 


577.040 


$18.66 


-221 


697.600 


1,625.100 


25.76 


-133 


54.985 


120.094 


27.47 


-118 


50.909 


78.842 


38.74 


-55 


66.803 


88.064 


45.51 


-32 


109.860 


143.430 


45.96 


-31 


6.023 


7.111 


50.82 


-18 


6.572 


7.610 


51.82 


-16 


.571 


.659 


51.99 


-15 


.703 


.801 


52.66 


-14 


1 ,352.500 


1,518.800 


53.43 


-12 


11.847 


13.117 


54.19 


-11 


9.455 


10.099 


56.17 


-7 


2.427 


2.553 


57.04 


-5 


23.000 


23.000 


60.00 






ft M.S. ilovci uncut Print ill); OlMcc : l!'«7 I 7(1- 7<>r>/!i I MM 



ll98 r V 336 
















<. 5 ° * ' o 

*' ^S A^ 

*«,.»• A <, *^T* A* ^> *••»• <V <* *^VT* A v v> *••»• A <* *'7.«' A v 

> <v^-/ \'y?frj %.^-j? 



<\^ „ i • 




\^ 




























T.* 4 .6 



y -^t\ *° tf^. * ^ *«-&\ /^Jei^y- /sm&K / 




-4 ^ ., 



c* * 




















-^ y"° 



& .w»». ^S 










r . ' • 



♦'^ ' 







o_ * 






A^" .♦!,*»-. 















S^ ^ 



„^ « 












iP^. V 



5°^ -1 



% 



?"*, 



*o . » » A 






. <^ V . » 



O * #1 ,o- 



%/ .* 










V„ ujk 



A 



**' *< 



rf> 



> % 



>°% 






^ ^ 



^ 



<, 






t ,f 



^ 



^ 



,0^ 



o ' „ 



^ 



^ J 
















3 ^ : -r 



^ 






X O 



"<* 



.&* 




■liil! 



SSBkKHm 

H 



LfBRARY OF CONGRESS 



002 955 946 6 






liliiL 
liRIHiii 



ilH|i 

| j H|fl|| |L 
Masll mm 

SBi llBi 
wnRB 

liilH 



■p. I m 



I B 

HfiflnHflmBI 

■BSHHuhHB 

IIHiPiwIliiflK n 

■■■:■■;■■•■ ■v.'.f: .-■■— ■■ 
■111 



